Goddess Born
by Aodh Stormeyes
Summary: Sean Dolan goes home one day to find both of his parents brutally murdered and a woman standing right behind him. The woman admits to the crime and suddenly Sean's entire world changes. The woman reveals that she is an Irish goddess and his real mother!
1. Heritage: Scion

**NOTE: **MANY OF THE IDEAS IN THIS STORY ARE FROM THE _SCION_ ROLEPLAYING GAME. I DO NOT OWN _SCION_. _SCION_ IS THE PROPERTY OF THE COMPANY WHITE WOLF INC. I HUMBLY APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CONFUSION. THIS STORY, WHILE MOSTLY MY OWN WORK AND IDEAS, ALSO POSSESSES ELEMENTS OF WHICH I CANNOT CLAIM ANY ANY OWNERSHIP.

**Goddess Born Part 1 – Heritage – Chapter 1 – Scion**

_Long ago gods and titans clashed in a horrific war, in which the gods emerged victorious. Tales and legends from this time have been passed off as simple mythology and are often thought of to merely teach lessons or to tell stories about events by disguising them in metaphors and fables. The epic poem named _Beowulf_ or the tales of Atlantis are such examples. But know this: they are not fiction anymore than the World Wars were fiction. Gods and goddesses exist and not just from one culture. Every culture that believes in its own pantheon actually _has_ its own pantheon. The Japanese deities Amaterasu, Susano-o, and Tsuki-yomi exist. As do the Norse gods Thor, Odin, and Baldur. The Greeks weren't wrong either, and neither were the Egyptians. The Irish pantheon of warrior gods and goddesses still continues on to this day, same with the blood-thirsty gods of the Aztecs. China, Hindu, Voodoo, et cetera, et cetera. Even the Atlantean gods are still around, though they are far less known._

_These gods and goddesses have children with mortal humans and because of this divine heritage these child has the chance to become gods or goddesses themselves. These children are called demigods, for they are half divine. When one ascends to godhood, they leave behind their mortality, becoming a completely divine being. Heracles, Cúchulainn, Muramasa, and many other famous historical and mythological figures are demigods who proved themselves to their parents and pantheon. When that time comes they may sire their own demigods, who are also called scions._

_Many millennia have passed since the war with the titans, but now something has changed. Titans and their minions, called titanspawn, have begun to break free from their prison. They are free and they want one thing: revenge. The world has begun to experience the effects of this renewed war. Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters have multiplied. There are other forms of chaos which reflects that of the Overworld, which can be identified by the rise of even more scions to aid in the war effort. Some of these demigods don't follow in their parent's footsteps and instead become corrupted by the titans' promises of power._

_Now a few ambitious titans and titanspawn are beginning to break away from the battle with the gods in the Overworld and are looking at a different prize, the mortal world, a place completely unaware of anything out of the normal happening. The humans have all but completely forgotten their gods and the titans and only a few scions can stop the titans' plans._

– – – – – –

_I really need to grow a backbone._ Sean Dolan thought as he shrugged off more taunts from the neighborhood bully, Joseph Williams and his friends, Ray Kellogg and Kyle Smart. They were just finding ways of venting before they went home to their abusive families, especially Joseph. They had been bullying Sean for years and finally Sean's parents put him into therapy. _If only I could just hit Joseph onst._ It wasn't really fair that they should torment Sean, but Sean had long since learned that life itself was not fair. It wasn't like the movies. There would be no miracle that would save Sean from his hell.

Sean took one last look behind him as he opened his front door. Joseph and the others had left for their own homes. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sean stepped into his house and dropped his backpack by the door. The entire house was silent. There was an eerie feeling to the air.

"Mum? Da?" He called. Nothing. After a few seconds, Sean began walking forward. When he passed by the doorway to the living room, he stopped as a _caw_ sounded. Looking for the source, he saw a large black raven sitting on the coffee table. "How'd ye get in here?" He asked, knowing that he wouldn't get a reply.

"Yer mum is waitin' for ye, scion," the raven responded in a heavy Irish accent. Sean started in surprise. "Ye'd best not keep her waitin'." Sean's eyes were wide. Shutting them, he waited for a moment, telling himself that he was hallucinating, before opening his eyes again and noticing that the raven was still sitting there. "Ye done wastin' time, scion? The Phantom Queen isn't patient."

"This can't be happenin'…" Sean groaned, rubbing his eyes. "This is impossible. Ravens amn't talkin' to me." The bird merely studied him for a bit.

"There's only one of me, laddie," the raven said. "I doubt ye talked to those Aesir pigeons and I don't know of any others. If ye want me advice: get used to it. There're quare things than just me out there." Sean just stared. "Now, go." The raven spread its wings as if making shooing motions. "Yer mum's been waitin' to meet ye officially for years. She won't be pleased if ye make her wait any longer." Sean was all too happy to leave the living room, which he did as he tried to shake his head clear of what he'd just experienced.

Making a beeline for the stairs, he paused when he reached the top. His peripheral vision picked up a flicker of movement coming from his parents' room. Something was seriously wrong about it though. Just as Sean took a step towards his parents' bedroom, however, the raven's voice sounded again.

"Seen any dead spirits lately, laddie?" Shivers went through Sean's body at the words. He did _not_ see spirits. The therapist told him ghosts didn't exist. Just like… just like talking ravens! But he _could_ see the dead. Ghosts _did_ exist. He didn't know how other people couldn't see them, especially near cemeteries.

Shaking his head once again, Sean walked forward and pushed open the slightly ajar door. The scene his eyes beheld was horrifying. Sean gripped the doorframe with all of his strength as his legs went weak at the sight of his parents' bodies. Both were stripped naked, but that wasn't what made Sean feel sick to his stomach: their blood was everywhere. Sean's mother was nailed to the wall halfway between the floor and the ceiling, impaled by black spikes placed all over the woman's body. Blood was pooled on the floor beneath her and there were trails on the wall leading down to the puddle. More blood was sprayed around the room and as he looked at his mother's face, Sean saw that she had died from when her throat had been slit.

Tears started to well in his eyes as Sean turned his attention to his father's body… or what was left of it. He'd been ripped apart into pieces no bigger than Sean's forearm. Only his head was recognizable. The couple's bed had been destroyed, probably in whatever act that had led to their demise. Sean's body shook before his arms gave out as he simultaneously emptied his stomach. Who would kill two people in this manner?

Sean ground his teeth in anger and in an attempt to keep from crying. His hands curled into fists as he stared into the pile of his own vomit. What had happened? Why was his life like this? In anger, Sean pulled himself to his feet and stepped towards his mother's body. There wasn't anything he could do for his father, but he couldn't let his mother hang against a wall like a painting or a poster.

The spikes were slick with sticky, crimson blood, but Sean grabbed a tight hold of one and pulled as hard as he could. Strength wasn't anywhere near his best trait, but Sean was determined. Slowly, the spike pulled free of the wall and the flesh of his mother's forearm. Throwing it to the side, he moved to the one in her bicep, not paying attention to the fact that the difference in height and the awkward angle he had to pull from put his face directly against her bare and bloodied breast. His mind wasn't thinking about anything except for getting the woman down.

After he pulled a fourth spike from his mother's thigh, a shadow outside of the open bedroom door caught Sean's eye. Holding the spike in his hand like a knife, Sean spun to face the door and bared his teeth, crouching low. He saw nothing. After a moment he dropped the spike and returned to his previous task. Five spikes later, Sean braced himself and eased the final one from the center of his mother's chest and then catching her falling body against his. Gently he laid her on the ground as if she were only sleeping before realizing that her eyes were still open. Biting his lip in grief, Sean used two fingers two draw the lids over her eyes.

"You are soft, Seán," a woman's voice said behind him as Sean pulled his hand away from the corpse in front of him. "It does not suit one like you. You should not care about these mortals, not with your potential." Sean's hands clenched into fists again as he rose to his feet.

"Was it ye?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Did ye kill them?" There was silence for a moment.

"Yes." Sean spun around and lunged at the woman with a cry of rage. She sidestepped him, her long black hair flying in her wake. Sean's fist missed her by a large margin, though the woman was frowning. Sean turned to attack again but stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. It was empty, as if she were looking on something that was less than dirt. "You have willingness to attack me. Yet you have not struck back against your classmates, do you know why?" Sean was at a loss for words. "You are weak, that is why. Only your anger is fueling your desire to strike me. You do not need rage to kill. Rage takes away from your effectiveness in battle. Only the ríastrad is an acceptable form." Sean's jaw tensed as the woman's eyes studied him. "As you are now, you are not fit to be called my son. If you continue to disappoint me, I will kill you."

Sean's mind whirled at the revelation. Then he saw the similarities. Looking past her insane beauty, Sean saw his cheekbones, his chin, everything. He was almost literally a male version of the woman in front of him. The only real difference was that he was slightly broader in the shoulders. "Who are ye?"

The woman smiled, though that too was empty. "I am the Morrigan of the Tuatha dé Dannan. I am your biological mother. I am also a goddess." Slowly, she held out her hand. In her palm was a necklace, on the end of which was a round, metal pendant with a raven carved into the surface. "This is the only gift I will give you without work. It is one of my flocks, so use it wisely." She pressed it into Sean's hand with a steel-like grip before stepping past him. "If you wish to live, Seán, I would suggest you abandon that innocence of yours. Take what belongs to you and perhaps I will change my opinion of you being my son." With those final words, she vanished. Sean could feel it and thoughtfully he gazed at the pendant his real mother had given him. Placing it over his head, he stepped back in to look at his parents' room and saw the knife of the floor. It was a modern military-issue combat knife and Sean could see that it had been the weapon that had killed his human mother. The Morrigan had left it for him.

Crouching down, he picked it up and studied the bloodless and flawless blade. As he looked at it, a smirk came to his lips. His father had been a leatherworker and had taught Sean the trade as well. And Sean needed a sheath for it if he wanted to carry it around with him.

Despite how repulsive the idea seemed, Sean's mind was different after what he'd just been through.

– – – – – –

Sean rubbed his eyes even though he wasn't the least bit tired. He hadn't slept at all, having seen and experienced too much the day before to rest properly. Sean was used to going without sleep though and so he had spent the night researching information on his mother. There hadn't been much, but he'd come across enough to piece together what the Morrigan expected of him. She wanted him to be a true warrior. Something Sean had always felt was his true calling, despite his ability to learn, but his mortal parent had forbidden him from pursuing any form of that path. And he'd always been afraid of the consequences.

Now he wasn't. With a smirk, Sean finished off the sandwich he'd made during the night and walked towards the front door, grabbing the knife his real mother had left behind the day before.

As he reached the front door, he turned to look back over the lifeless house he lived in. Carefully, Sean tied the straps he'd sewn into the knife's sheath he'd crafted around his waist, hiding the weapon beneath his shirt. A gray figure was floating in the doorway to the living room. Sean smirked again as he reached down and picked up his backpack.

"I told ye I could see ghosts," Sean told the specter of his mortal, adoptive mother. The apparition frowned in disapproval. "Aye, I'm takin' a knife to school. Mum doesn't care; why should ye?"

Without waiting for an answer, Sean turned and walked outside, closing the door behind him. Just over fifty feet away stood Joseph and his cronies. Slipping one arm into a strap of his backpack, Sean ignored them. After walking a few steps, he sidestepped a rock thrown by Kyle. As the boys all prepared to throw more at him, Sean shook his head in amusement and let his backpack slide from his shoulder to fall to the ground.

"What's so funny, leprechaun?" Joseph demanded angrily. Sean lifted his face and smiled confidently. But he didn't answer. He just took a few more steps until he was only a foot away from the older boy. Joseph glared at Sean, who stared back in calm humor. "I asked you a question, Irishman."

Sean acted as if he were thinking for a moment. "Yer drunk da must've hit ye pretty hard last night, didn't he?" He asked, putting on a thicker accent than he normally spoke with. "Tell me this… did he use the belt or the board this time?" Joseph, Ray and Kyle all looked taken aback at Sean's sudden courage. Yesterday, he wouldn't have dared to say anything like that.

"Don't talk about my father like that!" Joseph ordered when he'd recovered, bringing the rock in his hand against the left side of Sean's head. Sean grunted from the force of the blow but otherwise remained unfazed. Lifting his hand to the point of impact, Sean's fingers came away red and wet.

The older boys watched in astonishment as Sean shook his head in amusement once more. "Is thon really all ye have? Me mum can hit harder than ye." Even though Sean knew it was the absolute truth, Joseph didn't know the facts of Sean's parentage. Meaning Sean's words only infuriated Joseph even more and causing him to lash out again with the rock. This time Sean was ready. Ducking under the wide strike, he slipped behind Joseph as Kyle and Ray watched intensely. The combat knife was out instant and Sean grabbed Joseph in a hold, restraining the boy's arms with all his strength. The boy stopped struggling instantly when he felt the sharp edge of cold steel against his neck.

"Are yous gonna leave me alone from now on?" Sean asked dangerously. Joseph seemed to be almost hyperventilating as Sean withdrew his knife and let his captive go with a shove in the back. "If any of yous bother me again: I'll kill ye. 'Tis only fair payment after what yous put me through so far. Is thon clear?" All three of his previous tormentors nodded in fear. "Good, now feck off." Sheathing the combat knife, Sean grabbed his backpack and began the short walk to school. He could already tell that it would be a good day.

And he had to admit: it felt excellent to be a demigod.

– – – – – –

Sean arrived at school with twenty minutes until first period. He'd walked fast, not wanting to be outside much longer than needed. He had immediately noticed more changes in his body. He had walked incredibly fast, covering almost twice the distance in a single step than he used to. His mind was moving a million miles an hour as it calculated the distances. In the few seconds that it used to take him to walk five yards, he now traversed nine.

Looking around, he watched people walking from the freshman hallway. As one group exited, all of them girls, one noticed that Sean was watching them and, for a moment, her gold-flecked green eyes meeting his near-black ones. Her hair was auburn and glinted fiery red and sometimes gold in the light. Calmly, Sean nodded at her before breaking away his gaze.

Walking towards his locker in the somewhat-crowded sophomore hall, Sean touched the combat knife briefly beneath his shirt. Stopping when he got to his locker, Sean's fingers unconsciously spun the dial and opened the door. Taking out the books he would need for his first class, Sean slid his backpack into the bottom of the long metal container and closed the door, only to turn and find himself face to face with the freshman girl he'd seen only a minute before.

"Your smell is strange," the girl told him, her nostrils flaring slightly as she seemed to sniff the air between them. "And just by looking at you, there's a creaking sound, almost like a tree straining under its own weight or a weak floorboard." Sean stared at the girl evenly.

"I don't know what ye mean," he told her. He moved to step past her, but she blocked his path. "Will ye please get out of me way?"

The girl's eyes left his to rest on the pendant Sean's mother had given the day before. "This is a strange necklace… may I?" She asked, motioning at it with her hand. Sean scowled at her.

"No," his voice was firm. "Now I asked for ye to let me by." The girl only smiled at him as her hand instead went to rest against his hidden knife. He stiffened unconsciously at the contact.

"You're a scion, aren't you?" The girl asked suddenly, her voice excited. Sean's eyes widened slightly at her words. "I thought you might be. It's so great not to be the only one." She removed her hand from Sean's waist and he relaxed slightly, but it was unnoticeable.

"Ye're a scion as well?" He asked when he managed to get over his shock. The girl nodded, tears brimming her joyful eyes.

"My name's Helen Stringer," she told him. "I'm an adopted daughter of Artemis; my real parent is her brother Apollo." Sean's mind was reeling. The raven had been right. There were a lot stranger things in the world than a talking bird. "Who are you?"

"Uh… Sean Dolan… son of the Morrigan." His voice was heavy with its Irish accent. Sean was largely taken aback by the energetic nature of Helen, whose smile grew wider.

"I've heard of you," she said. "Everyone says that you're a loner who won't stand up for himself." She studied Sean thoroughly. "Though I can see that you aren't like that anymore." Sean glowered at her.

"Can we get off the topic of me past?" He asked impatiently. "What do ye want?" Helen face dropped slightly before she sighed.

"That's why I don't like boys," she muttered. "They're too… brutish."

"Excuse me, lass," Sean asked, one of his eyebrows rose. "I'm sorry thon ye didn't go through years of bullyin'. I'm sorry yer parents probably let ye do what ye want. I'm sorry ye seem to know more about the gods and goddesses than I do. I'm sorry thon ye didn't have to pull metal spikes out of yer dead adoptive mum's body thon were pinnin' her above the floor and against a wall. I'm sorry yer da wasn't torn to pieces and thon ye didn't have to clean up the gore to avoid frightenin' anyone who saw the destroyed bedroom where the two were murdered by yer divine parent." His tone was harsh and with each detail Helen had taken a step back in fear. For a moment, Sean was glad that nobody but her had heard his rant. "So forgive me if I'm a wee bit… brutish. 'Tis probably due to traits I received from me mum."

"Your mother k-killed your family?" Sean leaned against the lockers and gave a smile that was obviously false. "Oh… I-I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"

"Didn't think to ask now, did ye, lass?" Sean responded. "She slit me adoptive mum's throat with…" he motioned to the combat knife beneath his shirt. "She had been alive through the impalin' process. Wojus way to go if ye ask me." Helen didn't respond. "So I'll ask again: what do ye want?"

"I-I was told to gather a group of scions together," she answered after a moment. "To fight the titans." Sean just stared at her.

"Aye, I read about them. The fomorians are me mum's enemies, after all."

Helen just shook her head. "Not to fight just titanspawn, but the titans and their avatars themselves." Once more, Sean just stared at her with his arms crossed in front of him, holding his books over his hidden weapon, before he suddenly chuckled.

"Great… hope ye like giant maggots so." Helen made a retching sound as Sean stepped past her finally and walked to his first period class.

– – – – – –

When the bell rang for lunch, Sean tossed his books and binder unceremoniously into his locker. It was math. He didn't care about them anymore. He'd already read the textbook cover to cover and had done all of the book assignments and now he suddenly found that he was able to solve every problem in his head, making the graphing calculator he used completely pointless. He'd been smart to begin with, but that had been nothing compared to now. Shaking his head clear of the boring events of algebra II, Sean hurried to the cafeteria, managing to get in front of most of the crowd.

When he received his lunch, Sean took a seat at his usual isolated corner… except it wasn't so isolated anymore. Helen was sitting there pulling out a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a can of Sprite from a paper bag. Luckily, none of her friends were around, making it just the two of them.

"By yer actions this morn, I thought ye've never seen me before," he muttered as he used his fork to pick at the macaroni and cheese he'd been served. "How'd ye know where I sit?"

"I asked around." Helen ate a couple bites of her sandwich as she studied Sean again.

"Take a picture," he told her, noticing her eyes on him. "It'll last longer."

"You look like her," Helen noted. At Sean questioning look, she added, "the Morrigan. I did some research on your mother's pantheon. My guide, Aurora, knows a fair bit about the Irish gods and goddesses and I have a free period before lunch."

"How much ye find out?"

"A fair bit actually. Such as that the Morrigan is not only a goddess of death but also of fertility. She's also fond of life and lives it to the fullest in the way you can probably guess."

"Violence and sex?" Sean asked in amusement. Helen blushed but nodded.

"And sometimes at the same time." Sean laughed at that last part.

"Aye, thon sounds like mum," Sean laughed under his breath. "So who is this guide of yers?"

"Aurora is a nymph," Sean's fork dropped at the words. "Mother gave me a relic to circumvent the problem of a nymph's bonded area. Now, Aurora has to stay within a certain distance of me instead of being bound to her original forest home in Greece which was destroyed only a few weeks ago."

"Sorry to hear thon…" Sean muttered sincerely. "Is it true what the tales say about nymphs and their libidos?" Once again Helen blushed. Seeing her reaction, Sean smirked. "Thon part of the deal so? She'll be yer guide if ye shift her?" The adopted daughter of Artemis only became redder.

Sean's smile dropped when he saw a police officer enter the cafeteria, though obviously not with the intent to arrest anyone. Then, Sean noticed the man's size. He was easily over seven feet tall and built like a tank. Moving slowly, Sean stood and inched towards the door only a few yards away that would lead him outside. Following Sean's gaze, Helen quickly did the same.

The man didn't seem to notice them and Sean breathed a sigh of relief as the door leading from the cafeteria to the unused portion of teachers' parking lot closed. Helen was beside him, holding a wooden object shaped like a grip to a bow in her left hand. Unconsciously, Sean drew his combat knife.

"What's a giant doing here?" Helen asked while they moved away from the door. Sean was about to ask the same question when the hair on the back of his neck rose. "Here he comes…" The grip in Helen's hand became a full composite bow and she pulled a pin from her hair, which grew into an arrow.

"Fee fi fo fum," a deep voice called from the roof. Looking up, Sean saw the police officer standing there, grinning evilly at them. "I smell two annoying whelps of scions." Sean watched as the giant jumped down and suddenly became much uglier. "A Tuatha is a real treat. I've been searching for one of you for months."

"Not a giant…" Sean corrected Helen. "He's a fomorian." Helen merely nodded before she loosed her arrow. It caught the fomorian in the chest as Sean's body bounded forward with supernatural speed. With a burst of strength, he jumped, leaping towards his mother's sworn enemy in a seemingly effortless thirty yards. The still stunned fomorian lashed out with a fist, swinging it wide to knock Sean away. The son of the Morrigan ducked, moving behind his attacker, and slashed with the combat knife, opening a wound in the fomorian's hamstring. The giant roared in pain.

Sean's face was filled with a crazed joy as he jumped up and wrapped his left arm around his foe's neck, just as a second arrow pierced the fomorian's chest. Part of Sean thought that the entire fight was going too smoothly, then he saw the giant's wounds. They were festering. Helen had to be using poison on her arrows.

The pause for thought gave the fomorian a chance. Sean felt a large hand grip his grappling arm and yank him from him target only to be thrown against the ground a moment later. Pain flood Sean's body, leaving him unable to move.

"Sean!" Helen yelled in worry as the fomorian raised a foot to stomp on him. A split second before Sean would have met a gruesome fate, he found his body able to move again, allowing Sean to roll away from his would-be killer. Calmly Sean got to his feet. He was pissed that he'd nearly gotten himself killed.

"Hold still, maggot!" The fomorian roared. Sean flipped the knife around so the blade was extending from the back side of his hand. "I'll crush every one of you damned Tuatha!"

Sean lunged forward with a right hook to the side of the fomorian's face. His fist connected and the knife's edge slashed across the giant's eyes, blinding Sean's enemy. The next slash eviscerated his target while an arrow went halfway through the giant's neck. The fomorian swayed a little before collapsing to the ground, dead.

Looking at his fallen foe, Sean raised his combat knife and let off a wordless cry of victory. Helen was smiling as she put the grip that had become her bow in a pouch on her belt.

If the battle hadn't caught the attention of the other students, Sean's outburst definitely did. Sean sheathed his knife and stared in shock as the first few students exited the school to investigate. Instinct told Sean to run. And so run he did, calling on his strength again to vault over the enclosing fence with ease. A flash of movement beside him let him know that Helen was running as well.

They ran at equal speeds, covering ground effortlessly. After a few minutes, Sean and Helen stopped. They were far enough into the wood surrounding their small hometown to relax. Leaning against an oak tree, Sean started laughing. The rush of the battle was still in him. He felt invincible. Helen was still smiling as well.

"How's your back?" She asked. Sean twisted and tested his body for pain.

"Fine, though it felt I'd banjaxed it when he threw me," Sean answered. Then he remembered how the wound Joseph had given him had stopped stinging after only a few seconds. Running his fingers over the area, Sean's eyes widened. "Not so much as a scab…" he muttered in awe. "I can heal?"

"Looks like it." Helen shrugged. "Handy knack to have, seeing as how it saved your life." Sean nodded. "I wonder what Fate's planning…"

"Hard tellin'," Sean responded. "But I think we shouldn't separate considerin' how the fomorian found us so easily."

"Did you do anything that might have attracted attention?" Sean stiffened. He had known that the police-garbed titanspawn wasn't there to arrest him, but that still didn't mean he hadn't found something that made Sean's presence scream "scion" to any looking for it.

"I drew me knife on Joseph Williams this morn after he hit me with a stone." Sean looked at the ground in shame. That was just what his mother had warned him about. Though his head had seemed clear, he'd acted in anger. Helen let out a sigh as she pulled out a tree-shaped charm on the end of a leather cord from under her shirt. Closing her hand over it, she shut her eyes for a brief moment. As she opened them, Sean jumped at the sudden sound of footsteps drawing closer.

"Is this him, Helen?" A beautiful woman with tiny sprigs of pine growing in her brown hair asked. Sean's jaw dropped, though he managed to recover his composure. The woman, who was no doubt Helen's nymph guide, wore very suggestive clothing, but decent enough that she wouldn't be arrested for indecent exposure.

"If by 'him', ye mean the son of the Morrigan, then aye: I am he," Sean answered. Aurora nodded with a charming smile.

"I'd forgotten the mannerisms of the Irish," she mused. "But your accent is feigned for the most part." Sean gave her a smile that said "bite me".

"If ye want me to speak normally, love, I'm afraid I have to decline." Sean turned to look at Helen. "I guess we can't stay in school anymore. Pity, I'll miss sleepin' in every class."

"So you'll join her in searching for more scions to form a band?" Aurora asked, skeptically. Sean gave her another "bite me" smile.

"Aye, can't really fight the fomorians all by meself quite yet. And unlike Helen, I don't have someone to teach me about what's out there." Helen was beaming.

Aurora smiled at Helen's joy. "I guess we should get back on the right foot. I'm Aurora, Helen's guide."

"Sean Dolan," Sean held out his hand for a handshake, which the nymph took. After a moment of thought, Sean looked to Helen. "What now?"

"You need to find more titanspawn or rely on Helen's perception to do so," Aurora told him.

"So where do we go?" Sean asked. "Remember, I'm still new to bein' a scion."


	2. Heritage: Bonds of Fate

**Goddess Born Part 1 – Heritage – Chapter 2 – Bonds of Fate**

Sean looked at the ground and sighed. Helen had pointed out a trail he was supposed to follow and discover clues as to whether it was the actual trail of the wolf-like titanspawn they were tracking or if it was another decoy. As it was, Sean had learned one thing: he failed miserably at perception.

"Find it yet?" Helen asked behind him, causing him to start and draw his knife. Turning to face the daughter of Artemis, Sean kept his dagger out.

"Shite, Helen," Sean breathed. "Don't do that." Helen merely smiled before pointing behind her.

"I don't know what lead you're following, but the tracks are back there." Sean glared at her.

"If ye're so smart, ye do it. Obviously, I can't follow anythin'. I never needed to 'fore I met ye." Helen merely smiled knowingly before nodding.

"Yes, I've noticed." Suddenly her face became serious. "I think I know what we're tracking…"

"Oh?"

"A fenrir." Helen looked grave and Sean's heart sank. At the same time, he felt a flood of anticipation. He wanted the fight, despite his fear. He wanted to test his abilities, even if death was certain. Helen apparently noticed Sean's feelings because she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sean, you would just be going to your death. We have to outsmart it or get away while we still can."

A twig snapped from the direction of the fenrir's trail and hand's hand tightened on his knife. From behind a tree a man with short, auburn curls stepped into view. He looked as if he'd just stepped out of a courtroom or other formal function and he smiled as he walked closer to the scions. Sean's entire body was tense and he prepared himself to attack if the man was hostile.

"Peace, son of the Tuatha," the man said. "I am Lugh." Sean's eyes widened. "And I am here to teach you about your heritage." Helen moved to the side as Lugh reached out his hand and wrapped his finger around Sean's armed hand. "Your mother is pleased of your sudden change in attitude, but you still remain mostly ignorant."

"I'm learnin'," Sean protested, still awed to see the god of versatility standing in front of him. Lugh nodded.

"You are learning lore, but knowledge will only help you so much." Helen cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, but we're in the middle of tracking a titanspawn that's obviously hunting someone else," she cut in. Lugh laughed as he released Sean's hand. Sean sheathed his knife and looked between Lugh and the Greek scion.

"You think you have it completely figured out?" The Irish god asked in amusement. "You still have a long way to go before you can tell me what you are doing, especially when you are not entirely correct." Helen's eyes narrowed. "I will confuse your fenrir using my illusions long enough for Seán to learn what I am here to teach him."

"What exactly do ye plan to teach me?" Sean asked eagerly.

"Enech and the ríastrad as well as how to tap into your current powers." Helen still appeared irked at having been looked down on so easily. Lugh merely ignored her though as he continued. "The ríastrad is the warp-spasm I originally taught to my son, Cúchulainn. You will now learn it as so many others have. It is your mother's wish for you to become a great warrior, better than any that has ever emerged from the Tuatha. She has said that you know what to expect if you fail. She will also refuse to recognize you as a god without achieving this duty when the time comes that you are able to join us in Tír na nÓg."

Sean looked over at Helen, who was frowning. "I'll learn. I almost died last time," he said without looking at Lugh.

"Good."

– – – – – –

Sean gritted his teeth to keep from screaming. He couldn't let himself scream as he called to his divine blood – his ichor – to create the changes in his body. His fingers contorted painfully, becoming long, black talons that Sean could see were sharper than any mortal could have managed with any knife. Lugh was watching him undergo his chosen transformation.

When the pain finally subsided, Sean both looked and felt very different. He felt lighter, he could see better, and his hands were now a set of black talons. Lugh smiled and nodded his head slightly. Sean leapt off his left foot, spiining at the sound of a bowstring being released. His claws dug into a tree and he studied Helen. He jumped to another tree a split second before another arrow became lodged into the first oak. With a burst of speed, Sean moved instantly behind Helen, one of his black-claws hands gripping her shooting hand like iron. After a moment, Sean released her and let his body return to normal. With a confident smirk, he looked at Lugh.

"You are ready to learn the ríastrad."

– – – – – –

"Do you see anything?" Lugh asked Helen. She was looking at the ground, trying to find the trail of the fenrir she'd been tracking a few days before. Finally, she nodded. "Good, then I will take my leave now." Turning to Sean, the Irish god of versatility smiled. "I await the day Dubh Fhiaigh joins us in Tír na nÓg. Do not fail us Seán Dolan."

With those words, the two scions watched the deity walk away and disappear after a few steps. Sean glanced over at Helen, his eyes as black as a raven's. "Let's hunt some titanspawn."

Helen nodded once more before Sean eyes locked onto the fenrir tracks and bounded off into the distance. Helen followed suit and was thankful that Sean moved slower so that she could keep up. The son of the Morrigan had changed dramatically since the time they had first met. Helen quickly realized that Sean was far different than what she had thought. As a part of his power, Sean had been required to take what Lugh had called a geas. Helen had asked exactly what Sean would be bound to. The answer: it depended on Sean's values and nature.

Helen studied Sean sadly. If he wanted to continue using his divine heritage, he couldn't let someone weaker than him hold authority over him. All because of his regard for courage and one's intellect. Having arete was nothing compared to how Sean probably felt.

Suddenly Sean stopped, staring at the ground in worry. Helen halted beside him and tried to find what had caught his raven-like eyes. When she saw it, horror washed through her. There were three sets of fenrir tracks and a few feet ahead, another set appeared. They weren't hunting one fenrir, they were hunting at least four different ones that had decided to form a pack.

"Oh my god," Helen whispered, drawing on her own ichor to extend the range of her vision. The fenrir were heading towards a town not three miles away. "I think they've found a scion…"

"Us?" Sean asked, unsure.

"No, in a town nearby. At this rate, they'll be there-" Helen stopped as she felt herself leave the ground when Sean suddenly cradled her in his arms. "What the _hell_ are you doing?" She demanded.

"Point to the town," he responded. "I'll run us in." Helen just stared for a moment before Sean began to move. Briefly, she was glad Aurora was waiting for Helen to use her necklace to call her and that the nymph was nowhere nearby. Helen felt warm in Sean's arms, held tightly against him so he wouldn't drop her. What would her mother say about this? Artemis hated men. She preferred not only a woman's company, but their touch too. That was why she was a virgin goddess. Artemis had never been with a man and had tried to instill the same philosophy into Helen at her Visitation.

"Helen," Sean growled. "Point the direction; I can't see as far as ye can." Helen obliged, using the movement to try and get closer to him. She felt Sean's hands tighten and pull her even nearer, though probably because he assumed she thought he would drop her.

Helen felt like an idiot. She was growing attached to a man who would probably not return her feelings or would die before he got the chance due to both his nature and his divine parent. He lived a warrior's life and those didn't usually last very long. Especially a warrior scion's life.

Sean seemed to run for just over a few minutes when he stopped and set an unwilling Helen back on her feet, though she didn't protest or resist. She didn't want to distract him.

"We need to hurry," Sean muttered. "Can ye sniff out our compatriot?" Helen nodded and took a deep breath. There was the smell of burning amber nearby. If it was the same as what happened with Sean, there would be a sound in her ears when she saw the scion.

"Follow me," Helen said softly, not making it sound like an order. Sean nodded and Helen tried to focus on the smell alone, relying on her companion to watch for danger. Slowly, she led him down a main road. The smell was strongest, but other people walking by stopped in fear whenever Sean met their eyes with his. The glow behind them did make him appear otherworldly, Helen admitted to herself. Then she cursed under her breath. Fate had bonded her to the Irish American scion and _that_ was clouding her thoughts. Her adopted mother and true father had both warned her about Fatebinding. Even Aurora had cautioned against letting it happen.

Helen was snapped out of her thoughts though when she realized that she'd stopped in front of a music store named Odin's Hall. Looking over at Sean, Helen saw his glare at the name. Apparently, Lugh had instilled a dislike of the Norse pantheon in him while Helen hadn't been around. "In here," Helen told him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Sean nodded and opened the door, shocked when on the inside he saw a bar off to the side. It was decorated not only in the manner the Norse probably had adorned their mead halls, but it also possessed the feel of an Irish pub. Helen walked in behind him, aghast at the sight of the bar. There was a man smiling at them from the other side of the store. He was standing behind the cash register.

"Howdy, you here to buy something?" The man asked. "You don't look old enough to drink. Sorry, kid."

Helen shook her head in response as Sean turned his attention to the man. "I was just surprised to see a pub in a music store." The man cocked an eyebrow at Sean's accent. "We're lookin' for someone."

"Yes, Siri said she was expecting company. She doesn't care much for the Irish though, so if you could do something to mask your voice or change your accent, it would be useful." Sean's gaze was flat and Helen knew that if he continued to conversation a fight could erupt.

"That's okay, Siri won't mind all too much. We have more urgent news than a grudge between cultures." The man smiled sadly. "Where can we find Siri?"

"She'll be downstairs, practicin' with her band," another man said. It was the bartender… and he spoke just like Sean. "Laddie, don't worry too much about the lass. She'll treat ye rough, sure, but we're a strong breed and she knows it." Sean's expressionless face now bore the shadow of a smile. "Boss, I'm willin' to give him a round if ye are."

"No, Paddy, he's not old enough. I told you, they have to be twenty-one," the man answered sharply. Sighing, he looked back at the two scions. "My daughter's downstairs, just follow the music. And, kid, watch what you say. If you're anything like Paddy…"

Without another word, Helen and Sean walked to the back of the store. They could hear rock music coming from the other side of one of the two doors. Calmly, Sean opened the door with the word "Basement" on it, making the music louder as he walked down the stairs behind Helen, who upon seeing the lead singer of the band practicing, suddenly heard a thunderclap, causing her to start at the sound. When she looked at Sean, she heard creaking wood that blended with other sounds to create relaxing music. Realizing her thoughts, Helen gave herself a hard mental slap. She would not surrender herself to Fate's whims.

Siri and her band continued to practice until the end of the song while Helen and Sean waited. When the music died away, Siri smiled warmly at Helen and shot an irritated glare at Sean, who stared back at her flatly. Turning to her band members, they began packing up.

"Devin, make sure you practice more, your chords sounded completely off," she told the guitar player with a sigh. "Karlo, you have to get every note in your piano solo. You can't afford to miss any of them like you did today. The rest of you: good job." Finished with her critique, Siri strode up to her visitors. Helen smiled at the scion. "Mother told me that you'd find me before long. Siri Erickson at your service," she said as the other band members left upstairs.

"Nice to meet ye, now we have to prepare for a fight with those titanspawn pups." Sean's voice was quick and he kept looking at every exit the fenrir might enter from. Especially now that night was beginning to fall. Siri's eyes hardened at recognizing Sean's Irish heritage. Helen coughed slightly.

"What Sean meant is that we don't know if we have time for complete introductions yet. We found you by tracking a pack of fenrir." Siri's eyes instantly widened. "We don't have time to move." As if on cue, the lights went out.

"Shite, they cut the power," Sean growled. After a moment of silence, a soft glow started emanating from Helen's body, giving the scions just enough light to see by.

"You're serious about the fenrir?" Siri asked, fear in her voice. "How many?"

"At least four," Helen answered. "They'll attack any moment and I can't fight in these tight of quarters." Helen was frowning at the room that now seemed like a ten foot by sixteen foot box. Finally, the hairs on the back of her neck rose. "Here they come."

The door at the top of the stair wasn't heard at all as five growling, white fenrir came down the stairs. They were each as large as a horse. Sean and Siri stood in their way, Sean having formed his black talons and Siri wielding a wicked-looking spear with blood dripping from its tip.

"I told you all three were here!" One fenrir snarled at another. "My nose doesn't lie." The others just laughed before the center one began to speak.

"Surrender, scions, and your deaths will be quick. Fight and you will still die, albeit much slower."

"Not a chance, mutts!" Sean roared, his voice becoming a battle cry. The fenrir stopped growling, their resolves shaken slightly. Both Sean and Siri took advantage of their hesitation, though Siri more or less just followed Sean into the fighting. Helen watched Sean in worry before giving herself another mental slap. Sean could take care of himself, though he had a few close calls with the fenrirs' teeth.

"Get the glowing bitch!" One of the fenrir yelled as Sean's claws sank into its hide. Helen took a step back in fear as two fenrir broke from the group. They were backing Helen into a corner when Sean cut them off, moving in between the fenrir and the daughter of Artemis. He was soon joined by Siri, who was obviously slower than Sean.

"Think ye're strong enough to buy me some time?" Sean asked. Helen could see he was enjoying the fight. He was splattered with blood and his talons were dripping with it. "Don't want to say thon ye're not up to it, ach…"

"How long do you need?" Siri asked, her voice betraying her irritation. She too was covered in blood, but the fenrir looked unharmed, suggesting healing powers.

"Three seconds." Siri nodded and stepped in front of Sean, moving her spear like a natural, holding the fenrir at bay. Suddenly, the air around Sean heated exponentially as his muscles inflated to twice their usual size. Helen watched in awe and horror as the effects of the ríastrad took its tool on Sean's appearance. His hair spiked to become as sharp as his talons. Every thing seemed to stop, even the battle, as the fenrir and Siri noticed the hideous form Sean had taken. His bones jutted in odd places and his entire body was shaking from the overflowing violence infused into his flesh.

One of the fenrir lunged at Sean, who met the titanspawn in midair and slammed it into the ground, the short spikes of his hair lancing the fenrir's chin and throat as his claws ripped the "wolf's" ribcage apart. Death was slow due to the fenrir's healing, but it came nonetheless.

Siri separated from the battle, barely dodging a black talon that slashed her way as Sean was attacked by the remaining fenrir. Carefully, she backed up to Helen. "What on earth is he?" She breathed in awed horror as Sean tore the throat out of another fenrir taking the number down to three.

"It's the Tuatha's warp-spasm, the ríastrad. He's all instinct right now, unable to tell friend from foe. The god Lugh taught it to him at the request of Sean's divine mother," Helen answered. She was trembling at the sight of the battle. Against five fenrir, Sean only had scratches, which healed not long after he received them. Now only two of the titanspawn were left. "He's stronger when he uses it, but he becomes a monster. How the Tuatha could create something like this…" Helen could barely hold back her tears by telling herself that most of her worry was from the Fatebond. Siri said nothing more as she watched the remainder of the battle.

The final fenrir died when Sean ripped it in half, showering him with blood. Only then did he seem to calm down slightly, until he turned and cast his black glowing eyes on Siri. The other scion shook in fear as he stepped towards her.

"Calm down, you stupid brute!" Siri yelled at him, raising her spear to defend herself. As Sean charged though, Helen stepped forward, pushing Siri's spear to the side.

"Sean, turn back, please," she pleaded.

"It's not going to-" Siri started, but went silent when Sean's trembling ceased and he began to deflate. He was back to normal after a few more seconds. "Holy shit," Siri muttered as Sean leaned against the closest wall and held his head in pain.

"Shite," he groaned. "What happened?" Blinking, Sean's eyes went to the illuminated shapes of the dead fenrir. "Did yous kill them? I couldn't have been in the ríastrad that long and I know I amn't strong enough to have killed them all." Siri and Helen both stared at him in amazement. Could he really not remember anything?

"Sean," Helen told him softly. "Look at yourself. Siri couldn't get back into the fight because you nearly hit her with your claws. You killed all five fenrir." Sean brought his bloodstained hands up to his face. He opened his mouth to say something when the door leading to the store creaked and a flashlight shone from the doorway.

"Siri, you alright?" Siri's father called. "I thought I heard fighting." The light shone on Siri's blood-splattered face and the man rushed down the stairs. Helen quickly extinguished the glow coming from her body. One Fatebond in the band was enough. Siri's father stopped as his foot splashed into a pool of fenrir blood. "What the hell?" The man gasped as he used the flashlight to see the bodies of the titanspawn before following the trail of blood to see a gore-soaked Sean, shielding his eyes from the blinding LED bulb. "What in God's name happened here?" He demanded.

"Wolves, sir," Helen answered quickly. "Sean and Siri fought them off."

"I see that." The man sighed. "Well, come on up. The power should be back on any moment and you two need to clean up. Siri, your friends can stay, but we need to have a talk." Siri nodded as she, Sean, and Helen followed her father up the stairs. Standing beside the door was a grinning Paddy.

"How ye doin', laddie?" The bartender asked. Sean said nothing. Helen studied the knowing smile on Paddy's face before the sound of creaking wood filled her ears. Paddy was another Irish scion and had given them no clue. "I'd've helped yous if I had inherited me da's strength. Thank yous for takin' 'em off me tail. So, boss, still think the lad doesn't deserve a drink for what he just pulled?"

"I'm not going to tell you again, Paddy: no, he's too young." Paddy only shook his head and muttered something about "enech". Helen stared at Paddy in amazement. As Siri and Sean were herded up another set of stairs, Helen stayed behind.

"Why didn't you tell us you were Tuatha? She asked. Paddy shrugged.

"Don't matter anymore since I lost me enech," the man explained. "Used to be a real charmer, I did. Until one screw up took away me ability to call upon me divine heritage."

"What happened?"

"Was forced to break me geas." Paddy's voice was resentful. "Hospitality isn't capable of happenin' when ye're bound and gagged. Lost everythin'. Now I don't have a way to show it. Livin' at boss' mercy, I am." Helen studied the man sadly. "Whatever the lad's geas, tell him he'd best not break it. Else he'll be like me. Don't let others ye don't trust learn it. The geasa's a blessin', sure, but 'tis also a weakness."

"If you ever get your enech back, find us," Helen told him. "Sean could use the support." Paddy smiled sorrowfully.

"Aye, lass, I'll do thon. Maybe when yous bring the other lass with yous, t'will make the process easier." The smile faded slightly. "Ye're Fatebound to him, amn't ye, lass?"

"Please don't tell Sean, I don't want him to go off on his own. He was the first other scion I'd ever met." Helen plea was met with a smile again.

"Don't worry, lass. Yer secret's safe with me."

– – – – – –

Sean, Siri, and Helen were sitting alone in Siri's bedroom as they each picked at the meals sitting in their laps. Sean said nothing. There wasn't really anything _to_ say. At long last, he thought of something. "Helen, ye'd probably best call Aurora here." Helen nodded, pulling out her necklace.

"Who's Aurora? Siri asked before the nymph just appeared at Helen's side. Siri jumped in surprise, almost sending her food flying.

"A new one already?" Aurora asked. "I thought you were just going to hunt titanspawn."

"The fenrir were hunting her and another," Helen answered.

"I thought they were only after us, since you two went right past them to find me," Siri said. "There's another Scion nearby?"

Helen nodded. "Paddy. Being weaker than Sean though, his scent was masked."

"How is it he never said anything to me before?" Siri asked, her eyes flashing.

"He broke his geas." It was Sean who answered. "Lugh warned me of the cost when we were alone. It takes away access to use me ichor if I don't follow the geas." Siri looked stunned as she fell silent for a brief time. "The road to gettin' his powers back is a hard one. What was he bound to?"

"Hospitality, but I don't understand how that can be a geas." Helen's face matched her confusion.

"He has to play the perfect host, offerin' food, drink, warmth, and anythin' a person needs. 'Tis why he keeps tryin' to get me a drink." Sean sighed. "Poor bastard, probably a son of the Dagda."

"Did Lugh tell you how to fix it?" Siri asked, the name sounded hard for her to pronounce. Sean shook his head.

"He said me mum wouldn't be pleased if I broke mine."

"Which is?" Sean smirked as he gazed into Siri's eyes. A stab of jealousy went through Helen, but she put it out of her mind when she saw the look that was reflected in his natural, nearly black eyes.

"I can't let someone weaker than me in an area hold authority over me," Sean answered calmly. "If I do, mum'll kill me… literally." Siri shuddered.

"Who is she?" Siri asked in revulsion. "Who would kill her own son for something as minor as that?"

"The Morrigan would," both Helen and Sean said. "She'll kill him without any hesitation." Sean looked at his companion, who cast her eyes to the ground in embarrassment. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves officially. I'm Sean Dolan, scion of the Morrigan."

"I'm Helen Stringer, daughter of Artemis. This is my nymph guide, Aurora." Siri cocked an eyebrow at Aurora, who smiled.

"I'm Siri Erickson, daughter of Freya." Sean nodded. Helen smiled. They quit speaking to eat their food, which was growing cold. As they finished, Helen heard the sound of a harp being played in the room given to Paddy. "He's really good at it," Siri told them as the music caught everyone's attention. "I always wondered where he got the mini-harp. He always told me it was a gift from his father. He never misses a note."

"How long has he lived here?" Sean asked.

"Since I was about five. That would make it twelve years now," Siri answered. "He used to baby-sit me for my father. That always meant that he'd play his harp until I fell asleep."

"Ye sound smitten," Sean noted. Siri glared at him.

"It was a girlhood crush. That was long before my Visitation a couple of years ago." Siri was being defensive and she knew it. Helen wondered how long Paddy had gone being unable to use his ichor's properties, but still having all the benefits of being a scion otherwise. Looking over at Sean, she could see that he was thinking the same thing. Then the music stopped for a moment. It started back up when Helen heard a bottle being set on wood. Paddy's voice joined with his harp, singing in a language Helen assumed was Irish. It sounded depressed and mournful, the sound almost bringing tears to her eyes. Siri did begin to silently weep. "He does that one every night as he drinks away his wages. Father worries about him too."

"He lost someone," Sean muttered as he listened. "He composed this song. I amn't completely fluent in Irish Gaelic, but I can understand enough. He's mournin' a former wan 'e lost before his geas was banjaxed and then someone he lost after that. Then he mourns another love he lost recently. 'Tis a list of his failures really." Sean sighed. "He's led a hard life."

"He's also far older than he seems…" Aurora noted. "He mentioned something about turning sixty." Sean nodded as the female scions stared at them.

"He doesn't look older than twenty-five though," Siri protested. Aurora smiled.

"Just as one can heal, a scion can cease aging," the nymph explained. Siri was wide-eyed in disbelief. All four of them sat in silence listening to Paddy's life story. Even though only two of them understood the words. Finally Sean stood and yawned, picking up his plate before it fell out of his lap.

"Well, I should get some sleep, I need to start cleanin' the basement the-marra," he told them. "G'night." Helen stared after him as he left the room and entered the room he would share with Paddy. Then Helen noticed Siri and Aurora studying her.

"What?" She asked. Siri smirked at Helen in amusement.

"It's more than just comrades, isn't it?" The Norse scion's voice held barely-controlled laughter. Aurora appeared worried.

"When Lugh was around to teach him, you watched him, didn't you?" Helen nodded. Aurora looked up at Siri, her face serious. "She's Fatebound to the boy."

"What?" Siri's face and voice no longer held amusement, only confusion.

"Helen's being manipulated by Fate because she saw too much of Sean's power. A manipulation that's becoming stronger just by being around him." Helen wanted to curl into a ball and cry. The connection _was_ getting stronger. She was being twisted by Fate and was falling in love with Sean.

"Is there any way to stop this?" Helen asked, hoping for a "yes". Aurora put a hand on Helen's shoulder to comfort her.

"I don't know of one." The nymph's voice was apologetic. "Which is why I recommend that you exercise that last of your free will." Helen's guide reached into a pocket and withdrew a necklace, a replica of the one around Helen's neck. "The relic you call me with is actually calling its twin. I am in truth bound to this relic, and it will allow us to communicate over distances. I shall take my leave of you, but know that I am still your guide." The nymph turned to go as Helen watched her. "Follow your heart. Fate cannot twist that. It can inspire lust and obsession, but not love. Trust your own judgment." With that Aurora was gone.

Siri was smiling sadly at Helen as the scion of Freya picked up the two dinner plates left in the room and set them aside. "Come on, Helen, we should probably get to bed as well." Siri helped the fourteen-year-old stand and lie down on the spare bed. "Think about what Aurora said. If you choose him, it may have to be brief since you're Greek and he's Irish, unless there's a way to take it into godhood." Helen didn't say anything as tears leaked from her eyes when Siri turned her back and dressed for bed. The light went out a few minutes later.


	3. Heritage: Unplanned Arranged Marriages

**Part 1 – Heritage – Chapter 3 – Unplanned Arranged Marriages**

Sean applauded as Paddy finished a song on his guitar. The washed up scion of the Dagda had a collection of instruments and knew how to play each like a master. He never missed a note or messed up a beat. After a moment, Sean went back to scrubbing. He'd been cleaning blood from the basement and walls all day without a break. He didn't need one. When the bar had closed, Paddy went downstairs to give Sean some company.

"Well, laddie," Paddy commented, "a few more minutes and ye'll be done." Sean nodded and continued his work. Fenrir blood was much easier to clean than human blood. The memory of cleaning up his mortal parents' bodies was still fresh, but Sean had seen enough that it no longer affected him.

"Paddy, I heard yer song last eve." The guitar went silent instantly.

"Aye… do ye have the oul tongue?"

"Enough of it, Pádraig Ruadh Rofhessa, to know ye amn't all ye say or seem." Paddy nodded at his name.

"'Tis been a while since someone called me that." The older scion smiled. ""What's there to say? Sea, I'm sixty-eight years old. In fear, a half-god wanted to stay that way. I doubt I'm immortal, just young." He'd gone to speaking Gaelic.

"You used to be powerful, eh?" Sean replied in Ireland's official language.

"Sea, I was almost a god; my name was famous. Then came the titan-controlled person, wanting food and drink. I started when someone knocked me out. I woke up bound and with a broken geas. Sea, I kept my passive abilities, but lost my others. Over time, people forgot me. Dagda would not listen any time I tried to contact him."

Sean dropped the blood-soaked rag into the water-filled bucket, finished with his task. "I wish I knew how to help you."

"It's something that must be done by myself." Sean nodded.

"Mother will kill me if I break my geas."

"Mor-Ríoghain?" Sean had to take a moment before he recognized the name. Just like with other gods, the Morrigan had many alternate names.

"Sea, that's my mother." Sean didn't realize he was still speaking with Paddy in Gaelic until he caught the bewildered stares of Siri and Helen, who were sitting at a table as the two Irish scion walked by them. Then Sean remembered something. "That song last night; can you sing it again?" Paddy smiled.

"If you're wondering whether I intentionally made it free verse or if you missed a few words, it's the first one." Sean nodded. He was getting more fluent as he spoke with Paddy. "Fine, I'll sing it.

"_On a moonless night, the star shone bright._

_A son of the Good God was born._

_To this lad he gave a harp and told him a band to form._

_Now, this boy was Pádraig Ruadh Rofhessa, and noble and obedient was he._

_He formed that band and traveled the land, even to the Irish sea._

_But misfortune seemed to follow as his legend grew, for into love he fell._

_She was a fair maid of Breo Saighead, or Brigid as she knew._

_The love he had seemed a good match until his brother came._

_Aengus charmed the girl until she swooned but left her after that night._

_She left the child with Pádraig and took her life away._

_Pádraig blamed himself for her for he had loved her so, and with the babe he left his mates, a 'roving he did go._

_At the age of twenty-five, Pádraig feared his death._

_He accepted youth in exchange for his bread._

_The bond made him stronger, and so he played, his legend once more growing._

_But then one day a stranger came and took the child away._

_He came in and asked for a drink, which Pádraig gladly gave._

_But then Pádraig was struck and when he woke, the man was gone and Pádraig's enech with him._

_For twenty years Pádraig searched, and people began to forget._

_Broken, with his power no more, he left his home for the free._

_There he met a child for who love within him swelled._

_He raised her when he could, his harp still played well._

_Then the girl met her mother and her joy left._

_From that time forth, she hated the Irish man she had kept._

_Now Pádraig is past sixty, his father still won't answer._

_He tends a pub and hopes to serve to regain his former life."_

Sean turned on a sink and washed his hands of the watered-down fenrir blood. "Sounds better when you're drinking," he laughed. Paddy smiled.

"I can imagine. I stop my immunity to alcohol when I drink nowadays." The man ran a hand through his long, shaggy, red hair.

"So do you still love Siri?" Sean asked. Paddy's smiled faded.

"It's not possible anymore. She's Aesir. I'm Tuatha. And I'm fifty-one years older than her. Do you think Siri and I would be able to love?"

"Sea."

"Then what about you and Léan?"

"We aren't in love though." Paddy sighed.

"Do you know what a Fatebond is, Seán?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not. In my life, Aislinn, Breo Saighead's scion, became my lover because she stopped resisting a Fatebond I had created with magic she saw me use. Eventually is turned into real love, but that's how it began."

"So?"

"How much of your power have you used near Léan?" Sean though for a moment before a startled expression covered his face.

"You mean…"

"Sea, Seán. She's bound to you in the same way Aislinn was bound to me. I told her I wouldn't say anything, but you need to know. It was the song last night that made up my mind to tell you." Paddy managed a sad smile. "I know a spell to break Fatebonds, but it would take time for me to regain that level of power.

"Isn't there another way to regain you enech?"

"Not to my knowledge, there isn't. Give it up. Fall in love, enjoy life, and save your goodbyes for when the time comes." Paddy placed his hand on Sean's shoulder. "That's my advice."

"I'll do that when you and Siri get together." Paddy coughed in shock.

"Laddie, I told ye t'would never work!" He exclaimed in English. Lowering his voice, Paddy switched back to Gaelic. "Siri and I never have a chance. I have maybe twenty years left in me."

"Then I'll find a chance." Paddy sighed before walking away. Turning off the water, Sean dried his hands and went to find Siri and Helen. They were sitting at a table in the bar and both looked up at his approach.

"What were you talking to Paddy about?" Helen asked as Sean sat down.

"A slew of things," Sean answered. "Would ye like to know one in particular?"

"Sure, what was one thing you talked about?" Siri asked, already annoyed. Sean smirked.

"Ye, Siri. We talked about ye somewhat." Siri glanced over at Helen, shocked and looking worried. "Ye know thon second wan he lost. The one thon happened only recently. Well… thon was ye." Siri's eyes widened.

"He… loved me?"

"Aye, I suppose he hoped ye were a mortal whose mother was simply absent or the daughter of a deity who broke from their usual breedin' stock."

"So Siri and Paddy have a chance?" Helen asked, eyeing Freya daughter with a smirk that said "I told you so".

"I told you we don't even if he loves me back. Two reasons: a) he's Tuatha, I'm Aesir; b) I'm seventeen, he's sixty," Siri protested.

"Sixty-eight, actually," Sean corrected. "His reasons are the same, plus he doesn't want his past repeatin' itself if he regains his enech." The last part was a complete lie.

"What do you mean?" Helen asked.

"His first wan," Sean started, "was taken him with a Fatebindin'. Love grew in it." Siri looked over at Helen, who cast her gaze away. "He wishes he knew a stronger version of a spell he created. It breaks Fatebindin's, but not ones connecting him to others." Helen's eyes were as wide as Siri's and they stared at each other in amazement.

"Sean, there's something you should know…" Helen said solemnly.

"Yer Fatebound to me, amn't ye, love?" Sean knew the answer but he wanted to keep Paddy's involvement out of the conversation. "Same one as Pádraig, is it?" Helen nodded after a moment.

"How'd you…" Helen tried to ask."

"T'wasn't thon hard to figure out, love. All I had to do was think." There, Paddy was left out of it. "I don't know how-" He stopped as the shop door opened, despite it being locked. The man had fiery red hair and was built like a warrior in every aspect. The man cursed when the door failed to latch behin him. "Who are ye?" Sean asked as the man gave up with the door and started walking towards the three scions.

"The Tuatha were right. You look just like you mother, boy," the man noted, standing a few feet away from the table, his eyes locking onto Sean's. "I was told you were stronger though. Pity…" Sean glared as he stood up, knocking his chair back.

"Is thon a challenge?" Sean growled. The man chuckled briefly.

"Boy, calm down. I wouldn't be here if your bitch of a mother didn't own my soul. So don't push your luck." The man's face showed pain and barely-controlled rage.

"I'll ask again: who are ye?" Sean demanded one more time. Humming was heard as Paddy walked down the stairs and towards the bar. Sean watched him steop and begin to laugh with stunned relief when he saw the man.

"Setanta?" The scion of the Dagda asked, hardly believing his eyes. The man studied Paddy for a moment before laughing joyously.

"Pádraig!" The two men clasped arms and grinned like old friends.

"Is Séamus with ye?" Paddy looked hopeful. "The man knew more about geasa than I ever would. I need his help, but I couldn't find him after I left the band." Setanta's smile dropped.

"They're dead. After you left and Aislinn died, we were ambushed by fomorians looking for you. The bright one you killed was much loved." Paddy's face instantly became somber. "Séamus was killed instantly. Cináed, Fíona, and Faolán were killed much slower. They were tortured for information, Pádraig."

For the first true time, Sean saw Paddy angry. No, not angry. Sean told himself. Paddy looked absolutely enraged. "I left Ireland not just for escape. I left so they could have a change. Did Lugh take ye back after the battle?"

"Yes."

"I want me enech back, Setanta. I don't care how anymore. But I tried the easy way and it failed."

"Later, my friend. It was not my father who sent me this time." Setanta turned back to Sean. "Two sent me, actually. I am to follow the Phantom Queen's command first. Then I shall follow the Dagda's." Paddy's breath caught.

"What does me mum want this time?" Sean asked.

"She is proud of your recent victory, but is disappointed that you were wounded," the red-haired man said.

"Wounded? He only received scratches," Helen protested. Setanta laughed.

"Boy, take off your shirt." Sean glared, but obeyed nonetheless. Helen and Siri both gasped at the bite marks on Sean's shoulders and sides. The wounds looked infected and inflamed. "Do those look like scratches?" Helen stared worriedly at Sean, who ignored it.

"Ye done?" Sean asked, his voice not concealing his anger. "What me mum send ye for?"

"Seán Dolan, son of the Morrigan," Setanta began, "do you accept the price of more geasa?" Sean cocked an eyebrow. Paddy seemed to have gone pale. "With them, you shall find power beyond your dreams. You have the choice." Sean glanced at Helen whose eyes pleaded with him to say "no".

"I accept." Sean was steadfast and sure that the new geas would be easy to follow. Setanta nodded. Paddy and the others were wide-eyed.

"Step forward." Sean started to walk around the table when Helen grabbed his hand, trying to stop him.

"Please don't do this. You don't need to push yourself like this." Helen was crying. "You've already grown so much." Sean gently pried his hand free.

"I must, mum will kill me if I refuse." Before stepping past her, Sean softly placed his right hand against her cheek. Paddy watched the scene with a smirk.

"Setanta, if ye can, there's a Fatebond between these two…" Paddy said. The man nodded. "I can make it full strength if ye give me enech back first." Sean stared at the bartender.

"Why?" The other three scions asked at the same time. Paddy smirked again.

"For the one geas I regret never making with Aislinn: a handfast geas. The marriage geas." Sean was glad Siri's father had gone somewhere, since the man would undoubtedly object. "How about it, yous two? I know the marriage ritual. Cúchulainn here can lay the geas so without effort. And with the Fatebond strengthened, no one can keep yous apart if ye don't wish it." Sean glanced back at Helen. "To let yous know, a Fatebond of thon strength is powerful enough for yous to know what the other's thinkin' and feelin'."

"Neither of us is even close to marriage age yet," Helen protested.

"In olden times, both of you would have married at least a year ago," Setanta reasoned. "Do you accept Pádraig's idea or should I continue?" Sean met Helen's eyes and he saw the same thing he felt: love and uncertainty.

"Just do the Fatebond," Siri answered. "Let them decide then." She was smirking at Helen and Paddy laughed. Setanta nodded and clasped arms with Paddy.

"Pádraig Ruadh Rofhessa, to atone for your broken geas I place this secondary geas on you and twist the first. From this time forth, you cannot let a child suffer in your sight. For a year and a day, you cannot neglect a mother or expectant mother in need. Your enech shall return, but your power is restored." Setanta clapped Padyy on the shoulder and smiled. As a test, the son od the Dagda held out his hand, letting his harp materialize in his palm. Overfilled with joy, he plucked a string, the sound much more mystical than normal. Quickly, Paddy grabbed a chair. The following music flooded both the bar and the store.

"O bonds o' Fate, heed me voice. Tighten yer grip on this son o' Mor-Ríoghain and this daughter o' Diana." Paddy's voice blended with his music and, slowly, Sean felt a presence enter his mind. After a moment, Sean realized that it was Helen's thoughts and emotions. He felt her fear, sensed her shock, and shared her love. Finally, the music died. Paddy laughed. "The old man's got it still!" Carefully, he cradled his harp in his lap. "So yous willin' to marry?" Sean cocked an eyebrow at him before glancing at Helen. They were both thinking the same thing.

"Only if yous are." Sean spoke to Paddy while Helen did the same to Siri. Both of them seemed stunned. "I told you, Paddy."

"Shite, ye got me," Paddy surrendered.

"Pádraig, what's taking so long?" Setanta asled. Paddy was just about to answer when the door flew open and four women walked in.

"This isn't open house. The sign says closed," Siri snapped at the newcomers.

"Breo Saighead… Danu…" Paddy whispered in disbelief. Sean felt shock through the Fatebond as Helen recognized another one of the women as Hera.

"We are here on behalf of each of your parents. I am Sif," the final woman said. Siri looked horrified at having been disrespectful of four goddesses. "The Fates have decreed all of you to meet in the Overworld and seal your bonds there before the gods." Sean's heart skipped a few beats.

"Shite," he muttered, feeling his disbelief merge with Helen's. "Our parents are okay with this?"

"Yes, Seán Dolan," the Tuatha goddess Brigid answered. "We are seeking tighter links to other pantheons and so this is perfect. Pádraig will have his youth completely restored by Aengus, so that he may live his life again." Hera cleared her throat.

"Now that you know why we are here, it is time to go." A bright light flashed and when Sean's vision returned, they were standing beneath the limbs of a large, white tree. Ravens were perched on the branches and Sean watched them closely. Sean's breath caught when he "saw" Helen spot his mother.

A man dressed in druid robes, no doubt the god Ogma of the Tuatha, stood between the two soon-to-be-married couples. Looking at Helen, Sean realized that she was dressed in ancient Greek fashion, while Sean was wearing garb similar to Lugh's without the cloak. Paddy was also dressed in a tunic, though his was red, not black. Siri wore something that reminded Sean of a valkyrie.

"The Fates had declared that our pantheons will be given ties no greater than this. We Tuatha are to act at the center, but we do not wish to rule the others. Let these marriages be proof of an everlasting truce," Ogma announced. "Our sons will be bound by handfast geasa to seal these unions. Breaking these will be punished by death, is that clear?"

"Aye," both Sean and Paddy said simultaneously. Though Sean still had reservations, he could see he didn't have a choice.

"Parents, step forward." Sean tensed as he watched his mother walk beside the Greek Artemis. Both women were smiling, though neither Sean or Helen could tell if they were forced expressions. "Do you consent to these unions and the conditions thereof?"

"Yes." Sean could feel his mother's eyes on him. Helen felt the same thing from Artemis.

"If your will clasp the other's right arm and touch your wrists." Sean had to take a deep breath, but he gently wrapped his fingers around Helen's forearm and smiled weakly at her. She returned it and through their Fatebond, Sean and Helen felt the same: fear and uncertain. After a moment, Ogma tied a black ribbon around their wrists. Then he did the same to Paddy and Siri. "Now seal the union with a kiss."

Sean's heart was beating faster and he tried to shut out the thought of how quick everything was happening. He'd known Helen for barely two weeks and they were being forced into a marriage. She had been his first friend, sure, but they still hardly knew each other. Paddy and Siri at least had been together for twelve years, even if they had never truly been romantically involved. Sean's thought were interrupted when Helen laid her hand against his face, whispering his name so that only he could hear.

"I'm scared too, but we should at least try." Glancing at his mother, Sean found his resolve again. Bending closer, he pressed his lips to Helen's. As their mouths touched, different colors of light circled their bodies: black, yellow, red, gray, green, and blue. When Sean drew back, the light disappeared and he saw a radiant blue glow surrounding Helen. Through the Fatebond, Sean knew that he appeared to have a green light outlining him.

Sean turned to face his mother as she stepped closer. She wore the shadow of a pleased smile. "I sent Cúchulainn to give you geasa. Because he did not, to allow Pádraig to regain his enech and create this opportunity, I shall fulfill that task." Sean suddenly felt the touch of the ribbon binding his wrist to Helen's disappear. Looking down at where it used to be, Sean saw a black band dyed into his skin. There was also one on Helen's wrist as well.

Just as Sean prepared for his geas, a flurry of lights caught his attention. Turning his head to see what was happening, Sean smiled as Paddy and Siri kissed each other, the act almost like watching a battle that was so far a stalemate. "That brings meeting a wan to a new level," Sean chuckled. Turning back to the Morrigan, he held out his newly freed arm. The goddess took it in the same way Setanta had clasped Paddy's

"Seán Dubh Fhiaigh Dolan, to accomplish the task I have set before you, I place these geasa upon your head. From this time forth you cannot eat the flesh of your sacred animal, nor can you let a child or the weak come under harm in your presence. You must defend them. If you keep these, your body will be resilient, your resolve will stronger, and your power over ravens increased." The Morrigan's lips pulled into a true smile. "If you uphold your handfast geas, your body shall heal far easier. The proof has made itself known."

"You are all now full demigods as well. Your names are known enough that your power has increased to that level," the one-eyed Odin told them. "Step forward to claim your birthrights." Sean felt Helen's anticipation and then her shock when Aurora appeared beside her mother. Beside the Dagda stood an armed Setanta next to two horses, one black and one gray.

The Morrigan put a hand to Sean's chest, who tensed, unsure of what to expect. "Your marriage clothes will protect you when you wear them to battle as well as any armor. Take out my flock that I gave you." Sean grabbed the cord around his neck and pulled the pendant from underneath his black tunic. "You have not called the flock itself. If you do, they shall be smarter and will be far more perceptive than their already abnormal limits." Her hand drew the combat knife that had been hanging from Sean's belt. "I see that this has tasted the blood of a fomorian. The titanspawn's power and strength imbue this blade." Then she handed it back. The end of the grip was no longer metal, but stone that started to sing when Sean touched it. "That is a portion of the Lia Fáil, the Stone of Destiny. You may find that it gives you better ability to keep your geas. By infusing some of your power into this weapon, you may also alter it to create a sword."

Sean nodded. Despite knowing his mother's talent for fertility and prophecy, Sean was fine with what he'd received thus far, knowing he would be given more upon becoming a god. Helen's mother had finished gifting her scion as well, bestowing a stronger bow that appeared just like her old one but no longer required arrows, not even Helen's shapeshifted ones, as well as a long coat made of nemean leather and another necklace. Sean also noticed a set of brass knives which were sheathed in the coat.

Paddy was given Cúchulainn and the horses. Siri was gifted with a necklace of what appeared to be fenrir fangs, a sword Sean recognized as Tyrfing, and a rune-inscribed ring. The four scions smiled at each other before Odin cleared his throat to speak again.

"Because of this truce, all of you are expected to obtain godhood. Now go. Consummate if you wish, or wait."

"Don't go anywhere quite yet, you four!" A new voice yelled. Even the gods turned to look at who had spoken. It was a boy who looked to be in his late teens. He had unnatural blue-green hair and a fiery red bird sat on his forearm. Through Helen, Sean smelled the strange sensation of Ice, but heard absolute silence, which left Helen bewildered. "I had to seek out my uncle to get me here and lessons of the past have taught him to leave when near other pantheons As they have done to all my family."

"Who are you, scion?" Zeus boomed. The boy smiled pleasantly.

"Forgive me, I'm not used to addressing gods," he apologized. "My father and grandmother have spoken much on your efforts to destroy them. In fact, I have been told much about all of you. But – ah, that's right, you asked me my name." The boy looked nervous but at the same time, he appeared quite confident. "My parents named me Marcus Seymor; I prefer Mark though."

"Name your heritage, boy," Odin growled. Marcus nodded.

"My parents gave birth to an un-divine child, so my mother is the goddess Heshon and my father is Skaft." There was complete silence among the gods. Sean didn't know how, but the names somehow sounded familiar. The boy gave an odd gesture and suddenly tension seemed to ease slightly. "I'm not looking for a fight." Ares stepped forward with his massive battle-axe.

"You sure found one. How dare you think to show you face, Atlantean!" The god of war charged just as Paddy yelled for the violent deity to stop. Time itself seemed to warp and Marcus stepped to the side, easily dodging.

"Give it up Ares, I've mastered the stars." Suddenly a gun appeared in his hand. "I may not be a god yet, but I've found a way to gain their power as a mortal. You don't want to try me."

"Atlantean, how is it you are alive?" Ogma asked. "We slew your gods for joining the titans."

"My family never joined them. The people did and so you blamed their gods. The titans were afraid of my people and their power… as were you." Marcus waved his unarmed hand in front of the gun, which disappeared. "I want to restore my people and my family and so I place myself at your disposal. If you will help me, I will follow you commands. If you refuse, I shall find my own way alone. But know that I am no simpleton or pushover. I am the only son of Atlantis. Versak opposed my idea, but he was outvoted. We will fight you if you try to kill us and we will win."

Sean stepped forward. "Let him join our band and prove his loyalty." Marcus found his gaze trapped by Sean's eyes. "If he merely wishes good to come, then t'wouldn't having another pantheon as an ally be to our benefit as mush as theirs." A fair few gods murmured their agreements. Zeus, Odin, and the Dagda discussed it for what seemed like eternity.

"Very well, Marcus Seymor," the Dagda announced. "You shall have your chance to redeem your gods."

"Thank you." At those words, everything went white again. When Sean could see again the scions and Setanta were standing around the table they'd been at before all the interruptions. Luckily the horses were absent.

"Siri?" Siri's father called in worry. "Paddy?"

"Shite," Sean muttered. They were still dressed in the clothes from their weddings. "We have to hide or run."

"Leave this to me," Marcus whispered. A ring on his finger glinted despite a lack of light. Sean wondered what the Atlantean did when Siri's father, Tobias, entered the bar and turned on the lights.

"Will someone please explain what's going on?" Tobias demanded. "Siri, where have you been?" Nobody answered for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"We went to visit our families for a lock'a mo', includin' Siri's maternal family." Paddy responded at last. "Sir, there's somethin' ye should probably know."

"What?" The man asked, suspicious at the humble tone in Paddy's voice. "Siri's never met her mother. I only saw Carina twice."

"Actually, father… I have met her," Siri told him. "And Carina is a fake name. Her real name is Freya." Tobias glanced at Siri before staring daggers at Paddy.

"What's this nonsense you've told my daughter this time, Paddy?"

"'Tisn't malarkey. Ye cannot possibly think that a wan would conceive, leave the da only to later drop off the weean, never to see her again." Sean tired to reason. "Sure, I only met me mum twice, but she brought me to a family I had no relation to. Freya brought Siri to ye, her real da. Don't ye think she would want to visit Siri every so oft?" Tobias blinked in surprise.

"But to say that Carina is the ancient goddess Freya is still utter nonsense!"

"Actually… Tobias Erickson," Marcus replied, "it isn't. And we can prove it if you're willing to accept the risks."

"Who are you and what risks?" The man glared at Marcus.

"I'm Marcus Seymor, a… friend of this group. As for the risks of proving that we're telling the truth… well… it varies, I guess. I've never had any real experience with Fatebonds except for the usual 'they love me, they hate me' kind."

"Just show me this 'proof'." It was then Sean realized that Marcus' bird was gone, though he still held out his arm as if it were perched there. Helen noticed it too and everybody started as the animal suddenly appeared, studying Tobias with its head cocked.

"This is my phoenix, I named him Myrrdin. I had him hidden with an illusion. I'm not very strong at them, but they come in handy." Marcus didn't sound like his was boasting in the least. "Now the final part of who I am is that I am the un-divine son of two Atlantean deities. My hair is naturally this color as well.

Tobias sighed irritably. "I don't believe this…"

"But wait! There's more," Marcus continued as his phoenix jumped to the table. "Nothing in my pockets, nothing up my sleeves…" The Atlantean demigod snapped his fingers before a flamed appeared on the tip of his right index finger. "I also know practically everything one can possibly know about science." Now he was boasting.

"Can the rest of you do things like that too?" Sean smiled sheepishly as his pendant disappeared, filling the bar with twenty large, black ravens. Helen's bow grip changed into her new bow. Paddy's harp appeared in his hand. Tyrfing was suddenly held by Siri's. Setanta smiled secretively, but did nothing. Tobias took many looks around before swaying as if he were about to faint.

"We're telling the truth, sir. Siri is like us. She is the daughter of a goddess." Helen assured him. "And whether or not we were completely prepared for it, she and Paddy, as well as Sean and I, were forced to marry for mainly political reasons." Tobias suddenly looked angry.

"Paddy and Siri were _what_?" He growled.

"Father… Pádraig and I were married today." Then the man did faint, his body crumpling to the floor.

"I think we told him too much at one time," Sean mused.

"Aye," Paddy agreed. "Well, we'd better put him in bed and watch him until he wakes."

~4~


	4. Heritage: Discoveries

**NOTE:** This chapter contains potentially offensive language. It you don't like it: you don't have to read it. If You want to know what it means: for Irish accents, I use mainly words from Ulster, though also other parts of Hiberno-English. For a translation of words, go to Hiberno English & Mid Ulster English. Yes I know that it's Wikipedia, but I don't really care. I myself do not know how to write in accents and since I wanted it to look better than "he spoke with a thick Irish accent" I went with what I could.

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**Goddess Born: Part 1 – Heritage – – Chapter 4 – Discoveries**

Helen was leaning against Sean as they sat on the bed he slept in, listening to Paddy play his harp. Marcus was reclining in a chair and Setanta was standing guard by the door. Sean and Helen were testing the benefits of the Fatebond between them before they entangled their finger in each other's closest hand. After a while the door opened, letting Siri and her father walk in. Paddy had thankfully used his ability to persuade people to obtain spare clothing for Sean and Helen, who had only had the clothes their parent replaced.

Paddy kept playing his harp with relaxing tones as Marcus jumped up to give Tobias his chair. Tobias studied the other inhabitants in the room before laughing. The laughter sounded hysterical. "So I'm in a room with children of gods?"

"Aye," Paddy answered, his fingers still plucking the strings of his instrument. "As ye know, Siri's mum is Freya. Me da is an Irish god, the Dagda, makin' Sean me step-brother technically."

"I'm the son o' the Morrigan, an Irish goddess." Sean smiled slightly at the man.

"While she is my adoptive mother, Artemis is still my mother in the eyes of Fate. Though it was actually her brother Apollo who is my parent. Mother asked for him to disown me so that she could act as my parent."

"What about you two?" Tobias asked when Marcus and Setanta stayed silent.

"My father is Lugh of the Tuatha dé Dannan, though you know the Tuatha as the Irish." Cúchulainn responded when Marcus didn't. "I'm actually dead, but was given this body to act as a companion to a scion of the Tuatha, Pádraig in this case."

"As I said before I am the un-divine child of the Atlantean deities, Skaft and Heshon." Tobias studied Marcus.

"You're from Atlantis?" Marcus nodded.

"Not from there exactly, but I had to go there before becoming a full-fledged demigod. It was there I found the secret to the gods' power, actually. Mother and father were proud that I'd been able to survive."

"What does it mean that you're 'un-divine'?" Marcus smirked.

"It means that instead of being born a god, I was born only as a mortal with the potential to become a god." Tobias nodded, his face expressionless.

"So, Siri and Paddy were married without my knowledge?" Tobias finally asked.

"Aye," Paddy replied. "Our divine parents said thon Fate desired it and thon they wished to create a truce between our pantheons. Helen and Sean were also wed. Marcus is tryin' to prove thon his family isn't corrupt. And Setanta was given to be me companion."

What about your mortal families?"

"Mother married a few years ago and never really cared what I did." Helen sounded relieved. Tobias turned to Sean, who didn't really want to answer.

"Mum killed 'em with the same knife she gave me. I doubt ye want to hear the details." Sean gave the man another smile. Helen squeezed his hand as concern drifted from her mind. She could see the memory of him coming home to a talking raven, his foster family's bodies, and his mother standing behind him. "But it taught me thon I shouldn't anger mum or she'd kill me."

Tobias sighed. "Those wolves a couple of nights ago-"

"Not wolves," Siri told him. "They were children of the Fenris Wolf."

"The what?" Tobias' eyes widened.

"A child of the Norse god Loki. The Fenris Wolf is a giant wolf that is one of the most powerful enemies of the Aesir and was imprisoned at the cost of Tyr's hand. His own children, the fenrir, are smaller but just as intelligent." Helen seemed to know everything about standard mythology, but it came in handy at times. "They were after Siri and Paddy, but Sean, being of the same pantheon, masked Paddy's scent due to the difference in power."

Both Helen and Marcus stiffened suddenly. Through the Fatebond, Sean smelled incense, cherry blossoms, and ink with old paper. There were more scions nearby.

"Damn it," Marcus cursed. "I thought I had lost those bastards." Tobias watched the scene, confused. Then there was an angry roar.

"Shite," Sean muttered, pulling away from Helen, who was wide-eyed in fear. "We stayed too long." Sean was glad he'd thought to just put his new clothes over the clothes his mother had made into armor. "What's a dragon doin' here?"

"A dragon? Are you sure?" Setanta asked.

"No mistakin' a roar like thon." Paddy was pale. "What the divil is a feckin' dragon doin' here?"

"It's that bastard, Ryu, no doubt," Marcus muttered irritably. "They may have more than just a dragon."

"So if ye'll excuse us," Paddy told a wide-eyed Tobias. Everyone moved at once. Paddy paused long enough to grab a sword stashed under his bed and his harp as Sean and the others rushed down to the shop before storming outside, finding themselves face to face with five people Sean easily guessed were the other scions, even without the sounds that Helen heard upon seeing them.

Sean's knife was instantly in his right hand as both became his black talons. The other scions all had weapons of some sort. One Japanese man had a short bow. Two were holding swords, one Japanese woman and a teenage boy that Sean thought was half-Chinese and half-Korean. Of the two Indian women, one had a long bow; the other seemed to have three metal claws extending from between the fingers of each hand.

"Damnú air!" Paddy growled. Sean looked up and saw what he feared. A dragon, the European variety, was circling the area above them.

"We finally found you, titan follower!" The Chinese scions yelled as the dragon roared again. People were gathering around the group of scions. Some were recording the standoff or the dragon; others took pictures; the rest were watching and calling more people over.

"So much for not Fatebinding people to us," Helen muttered in Sean's ear as her hand reached for his despite his talons. Sean saw the two Indian women whisper something to each other as the one with the bow motioned at Sean, Setanta, and Paddy. Both women's stares became ice cold, causing Sean to glare back.

"It seems we were right about you, Atlantean," the clawed Indian declared. "It appears you have three titanspawn as allies. Children of Dánu, you have sealed your fates by revealing your existence to us." Sean looked at Paddy in confusion, only to see the man incredibly tense.

"Sean, what are they talking about?" Helen asked, squeezing his hand.

"The Hindu pantheon believes thon our goddess Danu is the mum o' a titan and is a titan herself…" Paddy seemed like he could barely say the words. "They refuse to listen to reason and so scions o' each tend to be enemies. Shite, I've been lucky so far, now it don't look so good." Sean turned his head slightly to look at Helen, but not enough for anyone else to notice.

"Mind me back, I'll finish this quick," he whispered. Helen nodded and back away, letting go of Sean's hand.

"Don't use the ríastrad if you don't have to," she pleaded. Sean smiled. He was thinking the exact same thing. If he relied on the warp spasm, he would be little more than a berserker. He had to be a leader, not a hindrance. And going into the battle fury would classify under "hindrance", since it would likely force the battle to become five-on-one. The dragon roared again before it suddenly dived down at Marcus. Sean didn't watch the result of the attack. Instead, he closed the distance between him and the opposing scions. His knife became a long sword as he slashed at the Indian woman with the bow. Just before his attack connected, the other Indian woman's metal claws caught his blade. Sean glared at her and noticed that she bore many similarities to a tiger. Starting with her feline-like eyes. Sean's mouth curled into a smirk as his glare became inhuman. His eyes turned black with the eerie glow behind them to complete his next step towards becoming a raven.

"Don't you know, featherhead?" The tiger-woman said. "Cats eat birds. Sandhya, I like mine well-done." Sean barely had time to react before his original target fired an arrow from her bow. The projectile burst into flame just as it glanced off his sword. Angry, Sean grabbed the tiger-woman's wrist and threw her claws away from him right as Setanta lunged at her with his spear. Sean turned his attention completely on his latest attacker only to suddenly receive a roundhouse kick to the head that sent him sprawling. As he picked himself up, Sean noticed that Paddy was fighting the half-Chinese boy, who appeared to be a martial artist, judging by his movements. Paddy was holding his own rather well, his sword seemingly in five places at once. Siri was taking on the Japanese woman who was now wearing a suit of samurai armor. Tyrfing was struggling to match the woman's katana. Marcus seemed to having difficulty with the Japanese man who Sean guessed was Ryuu, while Myrrdin was harassing the dragon, though the phoenix was no longer the size of a hawk, but seemed to have at least a thirty foot wingspan. Helen was kneeling on the roof of the Tobias' store, aiming an arrow in Sean's direction.

The sight was all the evidence Sean needed. Still on his stomach, Sean arched his back and pushed his body into a front flip. Landing on his feet, Sean spun around and dodged another kick, calling on his ichor to increase his speed. When her foot went through air, Sandhya seemed to stumble, an opening Sean took. A split second before his sword made contact with the Indian woman's skin, another blade parried his with ease. Though this sword didn't have a wielder. Sean's eyes widened slightly at the woman's confident smirk.

"Just give up and die boy," she said calmly. "It'll make the process easier." Sean quickly put a few yards of distance between himself and Sandhya, only to find that the sword followed him, lunging at his chest. Sean spun and clashed his sword against the mentally controlled one, knocking it about ten yards away from his body. Sean felt something float through his Fatebond with Helen. She wanted him to distract the woman. Taking a deep breath, Sean charged, dodging the sword as it shot towards him. Sandhya's foot came up to kick Sean away just as an arrow of pure light pierced the knee of her planted leg. The woman let out a hiss of pain. Fear flooded Sean from Helen's end of the Fatebond and he instantly knew why when he heard the dragon's roar.

"'Tis just me feckin' luck," Sean muttered as he looked up to see the dragon flying closer to Helen, opening its mouth to let fly a jet of flame. Breaking from his fight, Sean ran his full speed and leapt into the air, hoping that he would land on top of the store in between Helen and the giant reptile closing in on her. As he moved up through the air, Sandhya appeared suddenly beside Sean, her fist pulled back to punch him. Thinking fast, Sean planted his foot in her stomach and pushed off of her, jumping even higher and moving faster.

He landed just as the dragon let out its angry fires. On instinct, Sean stabbed his sword into the roof in front of him and called on his ichor once more. Mere inches from burning him to a crisp, the flames were deflected by an invisible shield that seemed to be surrounding both him and Helen. When the fire stream ceased, Sean let out a relieved sigh. Turning to look back at Helen, he smiled wearily. "Are ye okay?"

"Yes," she nodded, obviously having thought that she was going to die. "Sean… thank you."

"'Tis no problem." Without any warning, a laugh escaped Sean. He felt great, despite having quite possibly been an instant away from death. Helen almost started laughing as well, except another roar cut even Sean's laugh short. "Shite!" Sean spun around to face the dragon again as it launched itself headlong into Sean's barrier. The defense buckled instantly and Sean was thrown back as the force of the dragon's attack struck him as well. When he landed, Sean's vision turned black for a brief moment before he pushed himself up. Lifting his fingers to his head, he felt a wet spot on his forehead. He was bleeding, yet somehow miraculously alive.

"Sean?" Helen asked in worry. He didn't respond. Instead, he looked over the rest of himself and found that all of his injuries were healing almost instantly. It was happening much faster than it had in his battle with the fomorian as well as during his training with Lugh. Turning back to the dragon, Sean picked up his fallen sword. The Lia Fáil sang loudly as he stepped toward it. Helen was watching Sean carefully as he continued walking towards the dragon hovering in the air in front of them.

"I'm yer opponent, beast, so let's do this." Sean's voice was calm and the dragon seemed to understand Sean's words as it let out an angry growl before opening its mouth again. "There 'tis…" As the torrent of fire came at him this time, Sean knew what he was doing. The invisible shield sprung up again and Sean waited for the attack to end. He had all the time in the world.

Finally the flames stopped and Sean's shield vanished. Sean knew that it was his turn and so in a burst of speed that no one had seen him capable of, Sean charged the dragon and jumped. The creature tried to evade but Sean had been too fast. A moment later, he was standing on the dragon's back, his sword slicing into the joint connecting the dragon to one of its wings.

The fall was quick and the people below screamed as they ran in all direction, trying to avoid being crushed by the maimed dragon. Somehow Sean ended up on the bottom and falling faster than the dragon was. Once more acting out of instinct, Sean managed to get his feet under him and land, before dropping his sword and bracing himself as he raised his clawed hands above his head. The dragon landed on top of him with the force of what felt like far more than a freight train. Sean grunted as he strained to keep the wounded beast's body from flattening him as he held it in his hands. Looking around, Sean gritted his teeth as he dropped the beast behind him, and was forced to dodge a snap of its jaws as it recovered.

Around him, everything had stopped. The other scions, both his allies and his new enemies, were all staring in shock. Sean flexed his muscles, making sure that he hadn't pulled anything and smirked when everything checked out. When he stepped forward, towards Sandhya, all of them vanished, the dragon included. The only sign that there had been a fight of mythological proportions was all of the damage. The road and sidewalks were practically destroyed and there looked to bee a small crater where Sean had landed. Burn marks scorched the sides of buildings and there were also sheets of ice spotted in various places. There was no possible scientific explanation for what had occurred. And to make matters worse, dozens of people had witnessed the entire thing and were once again coming out of their hiding places to study the scene in disbelief. But that wasn't what worried Sean: Paddy was missing.

– – – – – –

"Sean, you know that's crazy," Helen protested. "If you go after them alone, you'll die for sure." Sean looked up from his list of potential rescue plans.

"I have to," Sean replied calmly. "If they take all o' us, we may not be able to escape. And I amn't plannin' on getting' captured." Standing up from the table in the bar, Sean placed a hand against the side of Helen's face. "Mind Siri. She's a state, right now. I'll be back in a wheen o' days."

Helen was crying silent tears as she watched Sean leave. She knew he was right, but she just wished there was another way. Marcus said he couldn't help, saying he had used too much power in the battle. Siri was similarly exhausted and was too distraught to think straight. Only Setanta, Helen and Sean could do anything, which meant that two of them had to stay behind to let Marcus rest safely and help Siri. It didn't help that everyone was thinking the same thing: there was a possibility that Paddy was dead or going to be killed if someone didn't act fast. That was why Sean saw it as his duty to go, even if it was alone. The thought of what might happen to him nearly made Helen want to chase after him.

But he'd been clear in his reasons.

– – – – – –

Sean's raven-like eyes saw the distinct outline of a boot print in the soft ground and briefly he wished he had Helen's skills at tracking. He could only pick up trails, but he couldn't tell if he was following a false lead or if he was walking into a trap. All he had to trust on were the hairs on the back of his neck… which wasn't very comforting. "Damnú air," Sean swore as he looked around. He'd lost the trail again. That likely meant that this one had been laid to throw him off. At this rate, Paddy would be dead by the time Sean found him.

Sean stood up, thankful to take the pressure off his chest. He'd hidden his knife underneath his clothing so that it wouldn't get taken. His pendant was on top of his clothing and thinking about it made Sean laugh. He'd forgotten about the flock he had at his disposal. In an instant the pendant disappeared from around his neck and Sean found himself surrounded by twenty ravens the size of raptors. They were much larger than normal ravens, but they would suit Sean's purposes nicely. His mother promised that they would be better than Sean could imagine them to be.

"Go find them," Sean ordered the ravens. Instantly the birds obeyed. When they all flew in the same direction though, Sean knew they already had the right trail. Turning around, Sean followed the oily black ravens. He smirked as he mentally kicked himself for not thinking of doing this before.

– – – – – –

Sean tucked his pendant under his clothes to hide it as he ran through his plan one final time. He'd laid enough clues that he was in the area in the other scions path. He'd already considered a snatch and grab rescue, but had discarded the idea upon realizing that Sandhya didn't need to sleep, eat, or drink water. So he went to plan B: get "captured" and escape. He wasn't quite sure how he and Paddy would get away, but there was really no other choice since fighting all of them was suicide, even with Sean's healing capabilities. Thankfully, Sean knew Paddy wasn't weak. It made the whole process much easier.

Sean was careful. He knew that so many things could go wrong. But he had to take the risks. He was just glad that Paddy was still alive and well, albeit a bit bruised. Though Sean had seen that Paddy's body could heal fast, Sean could tell that it was a conscious effort on Paddy's part, not like Sean's natural regenerative powers. Sean barely heard the footsteps in time, but he forced himself to relax as his body tensed. He had a task to do, he couldn't let himself die because of a last minute decision to fight.

"I thought I smelled your scent, titanspawn," Sean heard Sandhya say behind him. "Did you think you could ambush us that easily? You need a few more decades before you can hope to trick me."

"Go feck yerself," Sean said as he raised his hands in surrender. The Indian woman's response was a kick right in between his shoulder blades, though it didn't so much as faze him. A moment later Sean's vision turned black as a dark cloth bag was placed over his head.

– – – – – –

Sean was unceremoniously tossed into the cell right after the black bag was pulled off his head, letting him see again. The steel door slammed shut, leaving the only light in the cell coming from the barred window which was too high to climb up to. Sean was bound tight with a rope and as he struggled to sit up, he laughed as he saw Paddy sitting there wide-eyed at Sean's appearance. "What's the craic, Pádraig?"

Paddy stared for a moment before laughing himself. "Dead-on, Seán. Bout ye?"

"Dead-on. The geebag was a wee bit rough though." The two Irish scions sat there grinning before the door opened again. Sandhya entered and grabbed both Paddy and Sean. They were still smiling as she dragged them out of the cell and into what looked to be an interrogation room. "Own a prison, do ye? Or is this a school?" Sean asked as the Hindu scion dropped them. Looking over at Paddy, Sean shrugged and added, "Never could really tell the difference." The man smiled again.

"You don't seem to realize the situation you're in, Irishman…" A voice said. Sean moved around to see who the speaker was. The man who was studying him bore an undeniable resemblance to the other half-Chinese, half-Korean scion.

"So ye're the leader?" Sean noted, seeing the other scions against the walls of the room. "The oul boot who brought me here never mentioned she was an underlin'." The first response Sean received was a painful kick in the rib straight from the "oul boot". The man Sean had just met merely smiled slightly.

"I'm not the leader. Merely someone who prefers anonymity," the man replied. "Surely you can understand that."

"So ye're a hallion, amn't ye, fella? Playin' house with the gee here, are ye?" Sean motioned at Sandhya with his head. In an instant, Sean was sliding down one of the walls, his body in a fair bit of pain.

"Ach, so I'm right. Ye're shiftin' each other." The fist that was pounded into Sean's gut knocked the wind completely out of him, but he never stopped smiling. He caught a glimpse of Paddy, who seemed to barely hold in his laughter. Sean knew he shouldn't be amused by what was happening to him, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't going to become submissive to any of them and he wanted them to know that he was still in full control.

Another punch struck Sean's temple, causing his vision to turn white, but it came back almost immediately. Something wet trickled down the side of Sean's face and he knew it was blood, but everything went still among the enemies scions as they watch the wound heal itself instantly, something that happened too fast for almost any other scion. "Did I mention thon yer weak?" Sean said softly before Sandhya punched him again. The blows fell repeatedly, but they barely hurt at all.

"Sandhya, stop!" The man ordered after twelve more punches. The Hindu scion seemed to struggle for a moment before finally she stepped back and let Sean fall again to the floor.

"Thon's right. Listen to him, oul boot." Sean's words set off another struggle in Sandhya as she tried to fight the order she'd been given.

"Sandhya…" The man warned. The woman struggled for only a moment longer. Finally she spit in Sean face before turning around and walking to the other side of the room. Sean managed to get to his feet and smirked at the Chinese scion. Though he was still tied up, the fact that he was so confident seemed to unnerve a few of the other scions. "As you can see, boy, I am barely able to keep you alive. The only reason I'm trying is because you may be useful or have some information for me."

"Good luck," Sean smiled. He was sure none of them could notice that he was carefully working to free his hands, which were tied behind his back. Sean already knew that that was a mistake. Yes, the person couldn't see behind them easily, but anybody in front of the prisoner wouldn't see something hidden either. It was a better chance to take having a person's hands tied in his front. Without any of them noticing, not even Paddy, Sean had already managed to slip one hand free and was working on the other. "Tell me: do yous think yous can beat me in this wee little room, when yous already know thon I excel in close combat?" The man seemed to lose a bit of his confidence for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Ryuu asked harshly.

"Meanin' thon yous have a wheen o' seconds to kill me or escape." Sean's hands were now free and he carefully pulled at the knot keeping his arms tied. "One… two… three… four… five." Right as he reached five, the rope binding him fell to the floor around his feet. "I do parties for the weean's too." The other scions stepped towards him as Paddy moved out of the way. Sean's hands became his talons as a single large raven appeared in the center of the room. Everybody watched as it hoped over to Paddy and perched on his chest. "What do yous think? Hope yous can beat me before yous have to fight him too."

The Japanese woman struck first, the sword at her hip lunging for Sean's sternum. It was a simple matter for Sean to deflect it was his palm. He moved much faster than she did and so it caught the woman off guard as she was knocked off her feet and shoved into the nearest wall.

"Mizuki!" Ryuu yelled in shock as the woman slumped to the floor. The Chinese scion Sean had seen fight and Sandhya attacked next, coordinating their kicks so the boy would hit high and Sandhya low. Sean dove forward and slide across the table to dodge the attacks. He rolled and kicked with both legs as Sandhya rushed across the table at him. The force of his kick sent him into a roll and Sean found his feet beneath him as he crouched between the leader and Ryuu who was holding his a katana made of flame. Once again it was a simple matter to dodge, yet Sean stumbled as something pierced his side. Looking down, he saw an arrow lodged in his flesh right in between two of his ribs. The shooter was the leader.

"Jun…" The man's brother said in shock as everyone stopped. Sean grabbed the arrow as best as he could and pulled it out. The shaft had pierced him deeply and Sean grunted as he ripped it the rest of the way from his flesh.

"I hope you see the futility of your defiance, Sean Dolan," Jun said harshly. "The rest of you stand down. I want him alive." Blood welled in Sean's mouth as he leaned against the table for support. Spitting it out, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"T'would make it easier for ye if I were dead." Sean coughed as he spat more blood out. "I haven't shown me true strength yet."

"Sean, don't…" Paddy tried to say as Sean's eyes became murderous with their black glow. His talons grew to cover his arms up to his shoulders, covering his skin in black as he let out a deep croak. His body inflated and his bones jutted in some areas as Sean went into the ríastrad. His hair, which had grown slightly longer since his last use of the warp spasm, formed deadly spikes. The transformation completed soon, but the horror didn't fade from everyone's face as they beheld the monstrosity in front of them. Sean's t-shirt over his wedding clothes had ripped, revealing the black fabric underneath. With a growl, he tore the mundane clothing from his body, making him now appear to be a large black fiend. Sean's breath was coming out in impossibly hot blasts of condensation. He didn't feel anything. Nothing except for the violent rage that filled every iota of his quaking being.

"Demon…" The tiger-woman muttered in fear. Sean's head whipped around and in a single bloody moment, he had created deep gashes down her torso before grabbing her arm and throwing her into Sandhya like a rag doll. The door clicked shut as Paddy closed it, obviously wanting to get away from the unintelligent thing Sean had become.

"Damn it, subdue him!" Jun yelled as Sean took a step towards him. Everyone except for the wounded Hindu woman and Jun charged Sean immediately. Mizuki's sword was thrown to the side as her body intercepted an attack from Jun's brother's sword, slicing into the skin of the woman's shoulder. Her cry of pain caused Ryuu to falter for a moment, which proved a mistake since Sean grabbed him and swung his body into Sandhya, knocking them both across the room when Sean let go. "Yong, get away from him! We need to retreat!" Jun yelled as Sean rounded on Yong. "Grab Mohana. Ryuu, you take Mizuki. Sandhya, let's go!" Sean moved and instantly blocked the door, causing the defeated scions to back away in fright. "Sandhya… we need another exit." The woman nodded and punched a nearby wall two times to open a hole which Sean could get to in time to stop them.

When he went after them, Sean couldn't find anyone. There wasn't a single trace of his previous targets. After a moment, his body began to slowly deflate and Sean regained his ability to think. As he calmed down, he could almost hear Helen through the Fatebond. "Calm down, Sean… please, calm down," her voice said in his mind. "Come back to me…"

Sean looked at his hands which were bloodied from Mohana's wound and his own. How could he put Helen through that? Even if he had blocked her presence from his mind because of his rage, she had still sensed what had happened to him. She had felt the monster that he'd temporarily become. "Shite," Sean swore as he walked through the hallways of the police station he and Paddy had been taken to.

"Seán, you shouldn't use the warp spasm if you can avoid it." Paddy said behind him as Sean reached the front door. The man was speaking in Gaelic.

"I was dying. That arrow pierced a lung. If it weren't for my ability to heal faster than normal and that handfast geas, I _would _have died." Sean responded darkly. "I'm sorry if the way I handled the situation wasn't the best option."

"Damn it, Seán! Think of Léan!" Paddy yelled at him.

"I did what I had to so you could go back to Siri and I could return to Helen!" Sean roared at him in English, his accent had vanished completely from his voice and the youth glared at the son of the Dagda. "Do you know why I came alone, apart from the blatant reason that we might be captured? I came because Siri and Marcus were incapable of trying anything. Marcus was fatigued and Siri could scarcely think. She couldn't stand the thought that you had been taken. Setanta had to monitor her so she wouldn't attempt something injudicious." Paddy was stunned into silence. Sean was breathing heavily as he tried to calm his anger. "I did what I needed to do. I amn't goin' to die because I'm too scared to do what's necessary." Sean's voice was back to its accent as he breathed out the words.

Paddy cast his eyes away. "Ye remind me o' Faolán. He was willin' to take risks no one in their right mind would attempt. All because o' his sister. Do ye want to know what happened to her?" Sean didn't answer. "She died. Agents o' Crom Cruach discovered that she was his weakness. When he found out that she was in danger, he was willing to kill anyone who got in his way to save her. He failed. He begged yer mum to bring her back, but that failed too. He lost his temper and told the Morrigan that he'd revive his sister by force. Yer mum nearly killed him when he attacked her." Sean continued to say nothing. "But all o' the risks he took were unnecessary. We were forced to fight him out o' the ríastrad hundreds o' times because he saw it as the only way to win."

Sean just turned around and walked out the front door. After a few steps he stopped. "I'm sorry for losin' me temper. Now let's go." Without another word, Paddy started to follow.

– – – – – –

"Are you and Siri going to try for a child soon or do you plan to wait?" Sean asked Paddy in Gaelic as they sat around a small fire for the night. Sean was tired. He hadn't slept in a few days and though he could continue that way for a few more, it would start to affect him before long. Paddy thought for a moment.

"We want to wait for the child, since I can ensure a pregnancy whenever we want to try. Why about you and Léan?" Paddy responded in the same language.

"We haven't talked about it. I'm confused really. There are times when I'm sure that I love her, but others when…"

"I understand. Léan was confused as well. The Fatebond causes certain emotions, no matter what people say."

"But you said-"

"I lied. Fate has the power to completely take a person's free will. You've seen part of that power in action already."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a spell that makes it harder for people to instigate violence in an area. It's a handy spell, but it isn't foolproof. Séamus made a stronger version of that spell that made it impossible to fight and it saved our lives many times. In the ten years I was with them, we faced danger sometimes for months at a time. Sometimes the promise of peace was relaxing enough." Paddy shook his head. "But back to Fate taking away free will… It'll be easier on you if you just let yourself love Léan. After all, you don't have much choice now, do you?"

Sean chuckled as he tossed a twig into the fire. "No I guess not."

"Becoming lovers will strengthen your feelings towards each other. You have the choice, you aren't bound by mortal laws anymore. So your ages are now irrelevant."

"It's too soon."

"Well, it would feel like that I suppose. But just in case you change your mind, I'll teach Léan how to ensure or block a pregnancy as she wishes, if that helps your conscience." When Sean fell asleep, his thoughts drifted to Helen and of his regret for what he put her through.

– – – – – –

Helen was sitting beside Siri whose red, puffy eyes gave all the evidence needed to prove that she had been sobbing for a long time. Helen rubbed the other girl's back soothingly. "They're okay, Siri. Paddy's unhurt and they're coming back." When she felt Sean's thoughts enter her mind, she stood up and looked at the two men, Setanta and Marcus. "They'll return soon. So keep Siri company for a little bit." They nodded as Helen left the room and went upstairs to collapse on the spare bed in Siri's room. Closing her eyes, Helen could see Sean perfectly as they stood on a grassy knoll only a few feet apart. Helen's smiled at him. They had tested this capability of their Fatebond. It was mostly an illusion, but it made it seem as if they were talking face-to-face.

Sean's smile was sad. "Helen… I'm sorry for the other day. I didn't realize you would be affected as well. I couldn't think o' anythin' else to do. I thought I was dyin'."

"I know," she told him. "We didn't know what would happen." Helen didn't blame him for anything. She had been watching the entire fight from Sean's eyes. She had felt his pain when the arrow pierced one of his lungs from the side and she'd been able to do nothing to stop it. To make matters worse, he had no idea what most of the scions had been capable of. "We had no idea if you would live through it and you had to find a way to get Paddy out."

"Still doesn't make it right…"

"No, but it kept you alive." Sean brought his eyes up to meet hers.

"Things are happenin' too fast," he said softly. "I amn't used to havin' to fight for me life like this."

"I know, just come back safe."

"We will."

Helen could tell that Sean was about to with draw from the contact as just before he did, she whispered, "I love you."


End file.
